For the third time this week, an Arab-on-Israeli infiltration attack was thwarted before the terrorists were able to do harm to others.
Israel National News says –
Four armed Arab terrorists were captured Thursday evening after they crossed the frontier into Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip [and] were spotted when they approached the security fence and were apprehended shortly after they managed to cross the frontier… Israeli security personnel nabbed the four terrorists after the managed to penetrate the security fence along the Israel-Gaza border. After the four terrorists were captured, Israeli forces found the four were carrying two knives and a grenade. The suspects have been transferred for interrogation. [“Armed terrorists infiltrate from Gaza“, Israel National News, February 1, 2018]
A comment in Times of Israel reminds us of often-overlooked aspects of infiltrations:
There have been cases of Gazans entering Israel with weapons not to carry out attacks, but in order to be arrested and sent to prison, rather than remain in the beleaguered coastal enclave, which is run by the Hamas terrorist group.
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| Scene of this afternoon’s Gaza explosion [Image Source] |
Gaza is in the news for additional reasons tonight. Reports around 6 this evening (Thursday) say an explosion in a residential building in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City has taken multiple lives, including children. The WAFA news agency says
Seven people were killed and at least 20 others injured in an explosion in a house in the densely populated Sabra neighborhood in Gaza city on Thursday evening, according to the Ministry of Health. WAFA correspondent said an explosion occurred in a house belonging to Abu Assi family in Sabra neighborhood, leaving seven people dead and 20 others injured some of them seriously. The house collapsed as a result of the explosion. The injured were moved to nearby al-Shifaa Medical Complex for treatment. Initial reports said the explosion resulted from the detonation of a gas cylinder at the house.
An AFP newsagency report quoted by Times of Israel has a very different take on what happened:
At least seven Palestinians died in an explosion in Gaza City Thursday, in what officials say was an intentional act after a family quarrel. “Seven people including children died, and around 30 others were injured in an explosion at a home” in Gaza City, a spokesman for the health ministry says. A police statement says a member of the Abu Assi family deliberately set a gas canister on fire during a family quarrel, leading to the explosion. It says police were investigating the circumstances of the incident. Eyewitnesses say the explosion caused serious damage to the two-story building. [AFP]
Given the opacity of most news emanating from inside the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, we might not ever know.
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