IDF Thwarts Large-Scale Terror Attack

Stand for Israel  |  August 13, 2019

A major attack that could have cost the lives of countless innocent Israelis was stopped this weekend thanks to the vigilance of the Israeli military. The Times of Israel reports that four terrorists from Gaza were shot as they attempted to infiltrate Israel with an arsenal that included AK-47s, hand grenades, and grenade launchers:

The Israeli military said on Saturday that a “large-scale terror attack” was thwarted as troops killed four Palestinians who attempted to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip, armed with AK-47 rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades, hunting knives and bolt cutters. The Israel Defense Forces released a number of photos of the seized weapons.

The army said in a statement that the incident began at 4:00 a.m. Saturday as lookout troops spotted four figures heading toward the border fence “in military formation” from the direction of Khan Younis in southern Gaza…

Israeli troops “opened fire after one of the terrorists scaled the barrier and hurled a grenade at the soldiers,” the army said…

The Gazan cell was armed with “Kalashnikov [AK-47] weapons, bags filled with equipment for cutting the fence, energy bars and dates for the possibility of a prolonged stay [on Israeli soil], grenades and pipe bombs,” according to the military statement. The Palestinians were wearing improvised fatigues and had a medical box among their belongings.

“A large-scale terror attack was foiled here. It is not clear if the attack was intended to hurt soldiers or civilians, but a major attack has been thwarted,” said IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Ronen Manelis.

Manelis added that the cell’s preparedness and the amount of equipment and weaponry it carried, showed that there was a carefully prepared operation in motion.

The IDF said it holds terror group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, responsible. “The expectation is that Hamas will control events [in the Strip] and prevent them; it is therefore responsible for whatever happens in the Gaza Strip in these aspects,” the military said…