A Palestinian militant laying an explosive device at a street corner in Gaza City, near the Nahal Oz crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Wed. (AP)
Last update - 00:00 09/04/2008
2 Israeli civilians killed in attack by Gaza infiltrators
By Yuval Azoulay, Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies
Two Israeli civilians were shot dead and two others were wounded Wednesday afternoon when four Palestinian terrorists infiltrated from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel.
The attack took place at the filling depot close to the Karni border terminal, near Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Advertisement
The victims were identified as Be'er Sheva residents Oleg Lipson, 37, and Lev Cherniak, 53.
"Terrorists entered Nahal Oz and the fuel depot. They shot at civilians inside. There are two Israelis dead and two wounded," an IDF spokeswoman said.
Following the infiltration, IDF tanks and soldiers rushed to the scene, and killed two of the terrorists with tank fire. Two others managed to escape to the other side of the Gaza border, where a getaway car was waiting for them.
Later in the day, a Palestinian sniper shot and lightly wounded an IDF soldier who was carrying out a search near Nahal Oz.
An IAF missile strike on Wednesday evening hit a car in the Sajaia neighborhood in Gaza, in which one of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack was traveling, IDF sources said.
According to the sources, the terrorist and another man who was with him in the vehicle were killed in the strike.
Earlier Wednesday, during the IDF forces' attempt to target the terrorists who carried out the attack and fled the scene, the Israel Air Force fired one missile at a Palestinian car in Gaza City's Zeitun neighborhood and another at a house in the area.
Four Palestinians were killed as a result of the missile strike. They were identified as A'ataf al-Arbali, a member of the "Mujahideen Brigade," his brother Ahmed al-Arbali, Mazen Abu Kamiz and Muhammed Abu Jabeh.
Maj. Tal Levram, an IDF spokesman, said the militants fired a series of mortar shells before the infiltration to divert Israel's attention. The mortar attacks continued afterward, and one landed by Levram as he detailed the attack.
Levram said the army believes the militants were planning to stage an attack on a kibbutz or to kidnap a soldier , but were thwarted by the army's quick response.
"It could have been much much worse," the officer said.
Channel 2 reported that the Palestinian infiltrators set fuel depots afire.
The extent of damage to the facility was unclear, but the attack threatened to exacerbate Gaza's already delicate humanitarian situation. Plumes of smoke billowed up from the depot, the sole conduit of fuel to Gaza's 1.4 million residents.
Israel cordoned off the area, and police and emergency service reinforcements were rushed to the scene.
Security forces then checked whether there were more terrorists in the area. The gunmen apparently set out from central Gaza.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, along with a group linked to the Al-Aqsa Brigades. A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees said that members of three groups, not including Hamas, infiltrated the crossing.
"We are talking of a unique and complicated operation," said Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Ahmad. He said details would be released later.
The infiltration occurred after the latest delivery of fuel funded by the European Union, Western diplomats said.
A resident of Nahal Oz identified as Larry told Channel 10 television that several cars and homes in the area had been damaged as a result of mortar fire that reportedly occurred around the time of the attack. He said that the kibbutz residents had been told to remain in protected areas.
Israel raised its level of alert in the area in the wake of the attack, the Magen David Adom rescue service said.
Munther Rahmi, a worker on the Palestinian side of the border, said he saw IDF tanks crossing into Gaza. "We are surrounded by tanks. It's a war out there," he said.
An initial IDF investigation showed that the four Palestinians breached the border fence and infiltrated into the filling depot close to the Karni crossing. They opened fire on the civilians at the site, killing the two victims.
The IDF will now investigate how the militants were able to infiltrate without being caught, and escape back into Gaza. An IDF official maintained that troops acted quickly, reaching the site of the attack in a short period of time.
