IDF strikes six terror targets in Gaza Strip
following killing of Israeli civilian by Palestinian sniper • Hamas
condemns "cowardly attacks," threatens retaliation • "The goal is to
contain the situation and not see it escalate further," IDF official
says.
IDF soldiers evacuate the
wounded Israeli civilian who later died from his chest wound
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Photo credit: AP  |
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Israeli air and ground forces launched a
series of strikes against six terror targets in Gaza Strip on Tuesday,
following the killing of an Israeli civilian in a border shooting
attack.
Salah Abu Latif, 22, from the Bedouin city of
Rahat, was killed by a Palestinian sniper while he was working to repair
weather damage on the border fence near Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the
Israel-Gaza border. Latif sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was
airlifted to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he died of
his wounds.
In response, Israeli aircraft, tanks and
infantry targeted several terror sites in Gaza Strip, including a
weapons-manufacturing facility and terror infrastructure in southern
Gaza, terror infrastructure in central Gaza and two rocket launching
sites in northern Gaza. "Direct hits were confirmed," the Israel Defense
Forces said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was
briefed on the incident while visiting the southern city of Sderot,
said: "This is a very serious incident and we will not leave it
unanswered. Our policy until now has been to act beforehand and to
respond with force, and this is how we will act regarding this incident
as well."
"I suggest no one tests us. Anyone who has tried was struck down and anyone who will try will be struck down," Netanyahu said.
An Israeli defense official said on Tuesday
that the IDF "mounted a series of strikes and we are considering future
measures. The goal is to contain the situation and not see it escalate
further, but the IDF is on high alert and our response is and will be
unequivocal."
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon ordered the IDF
to close the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main commercial crossing
between Israel and Gaza, following the incident. "We take the terror
attacks of the past few days very seriously. Hamas rules Gaza Strip and
as such, we hold it responsible for the situation," he said.
"We will not allow the disruption of normal
life in southern Israel and we will react forcefully to any attempt to
harm Israelis. I strongly recommend that Hamas not test our patience. If
there is no peace in Israel, there will be no peace in Gaza Strip,"
Ya'alon said.
The defense minister further stressed that the
despite appearing as a wave of terror, the security incidents of the
past few days were not the work of major terror groups. "The majority of
these [terror attacks] is the work of lone terrorists, people who are
influenced by the incitement and the hatred the Palestinian Authority is
fostering against Israel," he said.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military
spokesman, expressed hope that the quiet would be restored but said the
military remained ready for any scenario. "We're not looking for an
escalation on the border with Gaza," he said. "But we're not willing to
have shots fired at us from across the fence, killing our civilians."
Palestinian officials reported numerous
Israeli attacks in Gaza on Tuesday that caused a series of loud
explosions across the area in rapid succession. Hamas Health Ministry
official Ashraf al-Kidra said an airstrike in central Gaza killed a
3-year-old girl and wounded three relatives, including two young
siblings. In all, 10 people were wounded, he said.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri condemned what
he called "cowardly" Israeli attacks. "The occupation will not terrify
the Palestinian people by these actions and will not punish our
resistance and will not halt its readiness to respond to any attacks on
Gaza," he said.
Israeli defense officials reiterated that the recent string of security incidents does not constitute a third intifada.
One official noted that, unlike the first two Palestinian uprisings in
1987 and 2000, which erupted in an instant, the current situation
represents a "crawling uprising," which is slowly brewing on the ground.
The defense establishment's official position
on the matter is that recent events are "atmosphere attacks," and that
they are not directed by any of the major terror groups based in Gaza
Strip.
'Israel will not yield to terror'
Latif was the first Israeli fatality in the
area since Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012. Family members
told Israel Hayom that Tuesday was his first day on the job. "A young
man should not be killed for working [near the border]. This has nothing
to do with being Jewish or Arab, it's time to stop this war," one of
Latif's relatives said.
Deputy Rahat Mayor Ata Abu-Madiam said Latif's
death was unnecessary and that he was "a victim of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
President Shimon Peres commented Tuesday on
recent security events saying, "If Gaza wants peace and quiet it has to
act accordingly, or it will suffer the consequences, tenfold. Gaza Strip
is not occupied. If [its rulers] think they can make the world support
them while causing more victims, they are wrong."
"The gunfire from Gaza at Israel has pierced
the special fabric of Israeli life and it has proven that Hamas and its
proxies are determined to harm Israeli citizens, regardless of their
faith," Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said. "This phenomenon of
trickling attacks must stop. Life in the Gaza vicinity communities must
be safe and stable."
Opposition Leader MK Isaac Herzog (Labor)
noted, "This terror attack is another incident in the recent wave of
terror attacks. Israel will not abide terror and I have every confidence
that the IDF will respond."
"It is obvious that the increased attempts to
target Israelis stems from terror groups' desire to impede the peace
talks and promote the notion of a binational state within Israel. Israel
will not yield to terror. We will not let it trump Israel's interest,"
Herzog said.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon condemned the bloodshed and called on all sides to preserve the
November 2012 cease-fire that ended Operation Pillar of Defense. "The
secretary-general rejects all actions targeting civilians and calls on
all concerned to exert maximum restraint and to prevent another cycle of
bloodshed," his office said in a statement.
Meanwhile, three Israelis were injured Tuesday
in two separate stoning incidents in Judea and Samaria: A 50-years-old
bus driver suffered a mild head injury when Palestinian youths stoned
his bus as it was traveling on Highway 5 near the Palestinian village of
Az-Zawiya, en route from Ariel to central Israel.
The driver stopped at a nearby checkpoint,
where he was treated for his injuries. One of the passengers on the bus
suffered shock and was treated on site.
The driver of a private vehicle traveling in
the same area sustained a shoulder injury when his vehicle was stoned.
He made his way to the nearby Alei Zahav settlement, where he received
medical treatment.
Security forces canvassed the area for suspects, but no arrests were made at the time.
Also on Tuesday, 41-year-old policeman Rami Ravid, who on Monday was stabbed in the back by a Palestinian terrorist near the town of Geva Binyamin, outside Jerusalem, regained consciousness.
Ravid was admitted to the Shaare Zedek Medical
Center in serious condition and underwent emergency surgery, during
which one of his kidneys was removed. Doctors said that Ravid is now in
stable condition.
The investigation into Monday's incident is ongoing.
Tuesday saw dozens of settlers rally at the Adam roundabout, near Geva
Binyamin, in protest of the recent increase in terror attacks.
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