Tzadok Admon Edry, head of the Sde Avraham security team, spoke to Arutz Sheva on Tuesday about an incident in the town in which a mother fought off an armed terrorist, saving herself and her young children.
The terrorist apparently entered Israel from Gaza near the Kerem Shalom crossing, he said, breaching a “smart fence” that warns of infiltration. The warning sounded, but was not dealt with.
The terrorist reached Sde Avraham, a small agricultural community four kilometers from the Gaza security barrier, at around four in the morning. He entered the Matzpun family home, and “began to stab the mother, who was at home with her four children; her husband was in the north with the army.”
“He got her in the face and shoulder, he had a knife and an iron pipe,” Edry said. “She got up and struggled with him, she fought like a lion.”
“We’re talking about a physically and mentally strong woman who works as a riding teacher and judges horse competitions,” he noted. “I would not want to fall into her hands.”
“She managed to fight him off despite her injury. We are glad this ended well, and not as a second Itamar.”
Edry called on the IDF to “learn lessons” from the event. “We must not wake up in the morning feeling unprotected,” he said.
“There were serious failures here,” he added. “Residents here are waiting for the next round of fighting, and they are not happy with how the war ended. Everyone knows that even after Pillar of Defense the situation is going to get worse.”
IDF soldiers stationed along the Gaza border claimed on Tuesday that the recent ceasefire with Hamas has tied their hands when it comes to responding to provocations along the security fence - possibly putting residents of communities near Gaza in danger.
"There are hundreds and possibly thousands of people roaming near the fence, including uniformed Hamas men," one soldier explained. "They crossed the fence several times and went into our forces' positions... The forces cannot push them away from the fence because they may not even fire in the air." However, IDF forces shot and killed a terrorist who crossed the border on Sunday.