Military shutters roads in south over fears of Gaza shooting attack

The military confirms it ordered the closure of several roadways in southern Israel out of concern that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip may open fire at Israeli vehicles in response to an exchange between the IDF and Hamas earlier this week.

The military says it made the decision in light of threats made by Hamas following the incident and after soldiers saw that the terror group had begun abandoning several of its positions — a move it generally takes as a precaution before carrying out attacks against Israel.

“The Southern Command decided to increase readiness and to close a number of roadways in the Gaza periphery,” the military says.

“Besides this, there are no special instructions for the home front.”

On Tuesday, an IDF tank shelled a Hamas observation post along the Gaza border, killing two of the terror group’s fighters, after IDF soldiers nearby said shots had been fired at them. It was later determined that the gunshots were not fired at the soldiers, but were part of a Hamas training exercise inside the Strip.

Hamas vowed to avenge its fallen members.

“The IDF will act to ensure the security of residents of the [Gaza] area and will not allow civilians and IDF soldiers to be harmed. The IDF is prepared for a variety of scenarios,” the military says.

— Judah Ari Gross