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| Israel Says It Foiled Big Attack From Gaza Tunnel | Israel Says It Foiled Big Attack From Gaza Tunnel |
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| JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it foiled a major attack from Gaza early Thursday when its forces identified approximately 13 militants emerging from an underground tunnel into Israeli territory not far from a kibbutz and attacked them from the air. | JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it foiled a major attack from Gaza early Thursday when its forces identified approximately 13 militants emerging from an underground tunnel into Israeli territory not far from a kibbutz and attacked them from the air. |
| The episode came as Israel’s aerial offensive aimed at quelling rocket fire from Gaza entered its tenth day and shortly before a five-hour humanitarian lull in the fighting came into effect. | |
| A military spokesman said it was not immediately clear if all the militants had been killed. Residents of the Israeli border community nearest the exit of the tunnel, Kibbutz Sufa, were told to stay in their homes for several hours after the initial confrontation, which began around 4.30 a.m. | |
| The Hamas military wing claimed responsibility on its website for the infiltration, saying a group of its special forces had penetrated “enemy lines near Sufa” and came under fire from the air after the “completion of its mission,” without elaborating. Hamas claimed that all its fighters returned to Gaza safely. The Israeli military said the militants ran back toward the tunnel once they realized they had been exposed. | |
| With the Palestinian death toll reaching more than 220, many of them civilians, Israel and Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza, agreed to suspend hostilities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday at the request of the United Nations. The pause is largely meant to allow civilians in Gaza to stock up on supplies. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, the military spokesman, said he did not expect the lull to be affected by the infiltration attempt. | With the Palestinian death toll reaching more than 220, many of them civilians, Israel and Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza, agreed to suspend hostilities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday at the request of the United Nations. The pause is largely meant to allow civilians in Gaza to stock up on supplies. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, the military spokesman, said he did not expect the lull to be affected by the infiltration attempt. |
| Still, the hours before the lull were punctuated with more airstrikes and rocket fire. The military said that since midnight it had carried out airstrikes against approximately 37 targets, including 15 concealed rocket launchers. Smuggling tunnels running beneath the Egypt-Gaza border were also hit, according to local reports. | Still, the hours before the lull were punctuated with more airstrikes and rocket fire. The military said that since midnight it had carried out airstrikes against approximately 37 targets, including 15 concealed rocket launchers. Smuggling tunnels running beneath the Egypt-Gaza border were also hit, according to local reports. |
| The Health Ministry in Gaza reported three Palestinian fatalities early Thursday, including a man killed in an airstrike on a house in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, another man, 67, who was killed in a strike while on his way to the mosque for the dawn prayer in Rafah in the south and a woman, 71, who died of injuries she sustained in an earlier strike in Khan Younis. | The Health Ministry in Gaza reported three Palestinian fatalities early Thursday, including a man killed in an airstrike on a house in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, another man, 67, who was killed in a strike while on his way to the mosque for the dawn prayer in Rafah in the south and a woman, 71, who died of injuries she sustained in an earlier strike in Khan Younis. |
| More than a dozen rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel, including a barrage aimed at the Tel Aviv area at about 9 a.m. At least one rocket was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and others apparently fell in open areas. There were no immediate reports of injuries on the Israeli side. | More than a dozen rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel, including a barrage aimed at the Tel Aviv area at about 9 a.m. At least one rocket was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system and others apparently fell in open areas. There were no immediate reports of injuries on the Israeli side. |
| Colonel Lerner described the attempted infiltration at dawn as “a terrorist attack that could have had devastating consequences” had it not been thwarted. | Colonel Lerner described the attempted infiltration at dawn as “a terrorist attack that could have had devastating consequences” had it not been thwarted. |
| The militants, who he said were armed with extensive weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades, emerged from the tunnel about 270 yards inside Israeli territory and just over a mile away from Kibbutz Sufa – “a short run,” Colonel Lerner said, adding that the kibbutz, a rural community of about 300 residents, was the presumed target of the attack because of its proximity. | The militants, who he said were armed with extensive weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades, emerged from the tunnel about 270 yards inside Israeli territory and just over a mile away from Kibbutz Sufa – “a short run,” Colonel Lerner said, adding that the kibbutz, a rural community of about 300 residents, was the presumed target of the attack because of its proximity. |
| The existence of such tunnels is well known to the Israelis but they are difficult to discover and destroy from the air, adding to the argument of those Israelis who advocate a ground invasion of Gaza. | The existence of such tunnels is well known to the Israelis but they are difficult to discover and destroy from the air, adding to the argument of those Israelis who advocate a ground invasion of Gaza. |
| Eyal Brandeis, a member of Kibbutz Sufa, said the residents received text messages at about 4.30 a.m. telling them to stay in their houses. “From the sound of the explosions we understood this was a grave incident,” he said by telephone. Soon the residents were told that there was a suspected infiltration attempt. Shortly before 10 a.m. they were told they could go back to their normal routines. | Eyal Brandeis, a member of Kibbutz Sufa, said the residents received text messages at about 4.30 a.m. telling them to stay in their houses. “From the sound of the explosions we understood this was a grave incident,” he said by telephone. Soon the residents were told that there was a suspected infiltration attempt. Shortly before 10 a.m. they were told they could go back to their normal routines. |
| Mr. Brandeis, a lecturer in political science at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said the last 14 years had not been easy for the communities along the Gaza border, but that, “Of course, the tension goes up when there is an escalation.” | Mr. Brandeis, a lecturer in political science at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said the last 14 years had not been easy for the communities along the Gaza border, but that, “Of course, the tension goes up when there is an escalation.” |
| He said a lot of mortar shells fall without warning in the area. “We just have to stay alert,” he said. | He said a lot of mortar shells fall without warning in the area. “We just have to stay alert,” he said. |