Tuesday, January 27, 2009

IDF Soldier Killed By Hamas-set IED At Gaza Border


Israel's Defense Minister, Barak, has vowed an Israeli response to an IED attack on IDF troops today that saw one non-commissioned IDF officer killed, and three other troops wounded. Israeli has helicopters in the area right now searching for the attackers. Here's some of the details from The Jerusalem Post:


An IDF non-commissioned officer was killed on Tuesday morning when a roadside bomb planted by Gaza operatives along Israel's border with the Strip detonated under the army vehicle he was traveling in.
Another officer was seriously wounded and two soldiers were lightly hurt in the incident near the Kissufim crossing, the army said.

Following the incident, the IDF fired at several targets inside Gaza and IAF helicopters were spotted hovering over the Strip. Palestinians reported that several people were wounded when IDF tank shells hit residential buildings in the Strip.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the incident "severe" and promised an Israeli response. Barak, who was touring the Ze'elim base in the South, would not say what the nature or extent of the response to the attack would be.

Now, these actions by Hamas and/or Islamic Jihad shouldn't surprise us at all but what is a bit surprising is, with all of the tremendous state-of-the-art surveillance of the Israelis, that this IED was actually implanted without detection.

I just checked most of the news wires and I haven't seen any world outcry over this attack by Hamas....okay, it is a little early for that kind of sarcasm, now isn't it?


IDF soldier killed by powerful roadside bomb on Gaza border

The defense minister told reservists that despite the "massive hit" suffered by Hamas during Operation Cast Lead, there was still a constant threat of attacks along the border with Gaza, "or even an incident that we will have to respond to."
An IDF official told Army Radio that until a long-term truce agreement was reached, Hamas would continue to try and attack soldiers.
In related news, the army said Tuesday that Hamas fired a Kassam into the sea on Sunday to test the range of rockets still in its arsenal.
The morning's incident marks the first clash between troops and Gaza gunmen since the IDF completed its withdrawal from Gaza on Wednesday.
However, it wasn't the first time Palestinians had launched attacks from the Strip since Operation Cast Lead ended over a week ago with Israel's unilateral cease-fire last Saturday followed by a truce declared by Hamas the next day.
Last Tuesday, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on IDF soldiers in two separate incidents near the Gaza border, and eight mortar shells were also fired at southern Israel. No one was wounded and no damage was reported in the attacks.

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