IDF probing whether 2 Gaza sniper attacks were work of single gunman

The Israeli military is reportedly probing whether a pair of recent sniper attacks on soldiers along the Gaza border were carried out by the same gunman.

In the first incident on July 20, Staff Sgt. Aviv Levi was killed, making him the first Israeli fatality in an attack from the Strip since the 2014 Gaza war. Days later, a soldier was moderately wounded by sniper fire along the border.

Both soldiers were wearing protective ceramic vests when they were shot.

Quoting sources in the Israel Defense Forces’s Southern Command, the Walla news site reports that though whoever was behind the attack likely did not get a “green light” from Hamas, the shooter or shooters probably received help from the terror group.

The sources also noted the difficulty of effectively targeting a sniper in Gaza from beyond the border and said the sniper(s) apparently used rioting along the security fence as cover to fire at the troops.

“We estimate the sniper exploited distractions to the soldiers in the field during the demonstrations,” the sources are quoted saying. “This isn’t coincidental.”