Four Gazans attempted to infiltrate Israel by crossing illegally from southern Gaza into Israel, intending to harm engineering tools used for building anti-terror tunnel obstacles.
The four ran away as IDF forces drew closer to them.
No one was injured, and no damage was caused.
Responding to the incident, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Yoav Mordechai on Saturday night published an Arabic-language Facebook post saying, "It is obvious that Hamas has failed to manage Gaza. It is known that Hamas prefers its own needs over those of the population."
"Hamas is encouraging the population to hold protests out of distress, and to disrupt order near the Israel-Gaza border.
"Hamas is abusing and will continue to abuse these protests and to place in them Hamas operatives, even if they are dressed as civilians. This is a clear and transparent process. Hamas is investing money into these protests, instead of investing money into health, water infrastructure, and protection of the environment. Therefore, do not allow Hamas to use women, children, and the innocent population.
"We will work determinedly and with a heavy hand against any damage to Israel's security infrastructure and any attempt to enter Israel."