Air force blows up explosives found buried near Gaza border
Army, on high alert in advance of Land Day, had spotted suspicious activity in area
An air force helicopter blew up a cluster of explosive charges on the Palestinian side of the Gaza border Thursday evening. The explosives had planted there in what the army suspects was a planned terrorist attack against IDF troops operating in the area.
According to the IDF, ground troops responded to initial reports of suspicious activity near Kibbutz Sufa, close to the Kerem Shalom border crossing. On discovering the explosives, they called in demolitions engineers.
On examination, the engineers determined that the charges were buried too deeply for them to safely extract them, and called in an airstrike to neutralize them.
“Terrorist operatives continue to attempt carrying out attacks in the Gaza area. For various reasons, among them Land Day tomorrow, the southern district has been reinforced and stands vigilant,” an officer in Southern Command told Channel 10 News.
An army source said the helicopters also fired towards figures who attempted to approach the area.
Earlier on Thursday, three mortars fired from Gaza landed in the Eshkol region. Initial reports had suggested that the helicopter strikes in Gaza were part of a retaliatory strike.
IDF troops are on high alert on all of Israel’s borders ahead of Friday’s Land Day protests.