An IDF soldier was listed in moderate but stable condition mid-morning Sunday after a shootout on the Gaza border. The soldier had been taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva and successfully underwent an operation..
Two terrorist suspects were shot and killed in the incident, which took place just north of the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza.
After a week in which Gaza terrorists attacked southern Israel with rocket and mortar attacks nearly every day, the two were spotted by IDF troops as they were trying to infiltrate through the Gaza security fence. They were also apparently part of a larger terrorist cell, which returned fire as the troops subsequently began searching the area, wounding the soldier who was taken to Soroka.
A second shootout occurred in the same area a short time later, according to a statement by the IDF Spokesman's Office, but all IDF soldiers returned to base unharmed. The incident is under investigation, according to the statement.
Gaza terrorists also fired a short-range Kassam rocket at Israel's Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council district in the western Negev on Saturday evening. There were no reports of casualties or damages resulting from the attack.
There have been more than a dozen short-range rocket and mortar attacks fired from the region in less than two weeks – more than double the number launched in the same period one year ago. Approximately 100 terror-related incidents, not including rocket and mortar attacks, have taken place near the Gaza security barrier since the beginning of 2010 – an average of one incident every three days.
The two-year anniversary of Israel’s three-week counter terrorism war against the Hamas terror regime in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, is coming up on December 28, noted a military source, who added that Israel is preparing for all possibilities that may occur, including any upswing in terrorist activity.
“The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for maintaining the calm in the Gaza Strip and for any terrorist activity emanating from it,” the IDF Spokesman said, warning, "The IDF will also continue to respond harshly to any attempt to use terror against the State of Israel."