From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 17, 2014
IDF thwarts major cross border attack
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe IDF thwarts a large scale infiltration attempt along the Gaza border, as 13 armed terrorists emerge from a tunnel on the Israeli side of the border at dawn.
An IDF spokesperson describes the attack as similar to a series of other thwarted attacks over the past 10 days of warfare, including two infiltration attempts from the sea near Kibbutz Zikim, an offensive tunnel near Kerem Shalom, and a drone attack earlier this week.
The IDF action that stops the attack before it is sprung is “obviously a huge success,” says Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.
BREAKING: IDF forces thwarted an attack by Hamas terrorists attempting to infiltrate Israel via terror tunnel pic.twitter.com/ew0f7xbQw7
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 17, 2014
The terrorists, he says, emerge from the tunnel early Thursday some 250 meters inside Israel. Lying flat on the ground, in an open area two kilometers from Kibbutz Sufa in the Eshkol region, the 13 armed men are spotted by what Lerner terms “different sensors” at approximately 4:30 a.m.
Realizing that they’ve been discovered, the terrorists attempt to run back underground but are struck by IAF aircraft. Lerner says some are hit but he cannot state how many.
— Mitch Ginsburg
The Times of Israel Community.