More details on the tunnel infiltrations

A clearer picture of the infiltration attempts emerges.

In open ground near Erez five terrorists come out of a tunnel shortly after six in the morning. They surface near the security fence and only a few hundred yards from the nearest community. An IAF aircraft intercepts them, killing all five, with no Israelis wounded.

“My understanding is that the Shin Bet provided an alert,” says Lt. Col. Peter Lerner. The gunmen were then spotted by surveillance soldiers and aircraft were quickly summoned to the area, he says.

Near Kibbutz Nir Am, a second group of terrorists surface on the Israeli side of the border.

It is not clear if they emerge from a different tunnel or a branch of the one that served the other squad, nor is the number of gunmen confirmed. The sizable squad is able to surprise a passing army jeep, ambushing it with an anti-tank missile and inflicting Israeli casualties. But with the help of Nahal troops the force is able to kill the operatives and thwart an infiltration to civilian areas or an abduction attempt.

— Mitch Ginsburg