Israeli Defense Forces foiled a huge terrorist attack and kidnapping attempt shortly after dawn Monday when Golani troops identified 10 to 12 terrorists, some of them on explosive-laden horses. The cell, affiliated with Al Qaeda, was equipped with booby-trapped vehicles and suicide belts, and the terrorists fired mortar shells while trying to cross the separation barrier near Karni under cover of early morning fog.
None of the Israeli soldiers was wounded. Israeli Air Force helicopters hovered over the area as the gun battle continued after the terrorists tried to use the shelling to trick the forces into looking for the launchers while other terrorists tried to infiltrate between Nahal Oz and Karni.
Helicopters attacked several terrorist targets, causing damage and injuries to a dozen terrorists, and the IDF closed the Karni crossing and the Nahal Oz fuel depot following the battle. Cars and at least one truck loaded with explosives blew up,
Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director Yuval Diskin recently warned that Hamas’s reduction of rocket fire to near-zero is a tactical maneuver while it increases attacks at the separation barrier.
The IDF has killed approximately 20 Arab terrorists since the end of January's Operation Cast Lead, and Monday morning’s attempt involved an unusually large terrorist cell.
Diskin pointed out that Hamas also is “continuing to build up its forces and increase the range and quality of its rockets as well as its capability to attack planes and tanks.” The Hamas branch of the Palestinian Authority government in Gaza also is improving and widening smuggling tunnels.