In a carefully planned but miraculously-failed attack, a Palestinian terrorist driving a car-bomb towards an Israeli bus in southern Gaza was killed in the explosion he caused; two Israelis were lightly injured as an indirect consequence.
The attack occurred around 8:40 this morning. A bulletproof bus carrying guards and workers of the Israeli Ports Authority made its way along the Philadelphi Route, on the Israeli-Egyptian border. An Arab jeep suddenly emerged from a side road - an area permitted to P.A. travel - and careened towards the bus. The terrorist driver, however, did not count on a large dirt hill that was just built three weeks ago, and it prevented him from advancing towards the bus. He or another passenger got out and shot towards the bus, and seconds later, the car bomb exploded. No one on the bus was hurt, but the bus driver's short stop caused the army jeep in back of him to crash into him, and two soldiers were lightly hurt.
A Palestinian terrorist group called the Popular Resistance Committees - apparently associated with Hamas - claimed responsibility for the attack.
A bus passenger said afterwards, "Suddenly we saw a white jeep, and the guards realized that it was coming towards us too quickly. There were shots, and then people in the bus started screaming and saying Shma Yisrael [the 'Hear O Israel... G-d is One' prayer]. After a short while there was a big explosion. We saw bullet marks on the windows... The first thing we did when we got off the bus was to hug each other; some people cried."
In another incident, two soldiers were hurt - one seriously - when two Palestinian terrorists were detected near the Gaza fence last night; the latter were presumably preparing to place a bomb near Kibbutz Nachal Oz just east of central Gaza. In a mishap that is now being investigated, the two soldiers set off on foot to engage them, while an IDF tank opened fire at the same time. Shrapnel from the tank shell struck the two, seriously wounding an officer of the rank of Major; they were transported to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva. The terrorists escaped. Alternative theories under investigation are that the foot soldiers were mistaken for terrorists, or that the order to open fire was executed by the wrong tank.
Palestinian terrorists fired a mortar rocket into the Gaza community of Gadid this morning, and in Shechem, soldiers were bombarded with rocks in the Askar slum; no injuries were reported.
The attack occurred around 8:40 this morning. A bulletproof bus carrying guards and workers of the Israeli Ports Authority made its way along the Philadelphi Route, on the Israeli-Egyptian border. An Arab jeep suddenly emerged from a side road - an area permitted to P.A. travel - and careened towards the bus. The terrorist driver, however, did not count on a large dirt hill that was just built three weeks ago, and it prevented him from advancing towards the bus. He or another passenger got out and shot towards the bus, and seconds later, the car bomb exploded. No one on the bus was hurt, but the bus driver's short stop caused the army jeep in back of him to crash into him, and two soldiers were lightly hurt.
A Palestinian terrorist group called the Popular Resistance Committees - apparently associated with Hamas - claimed responsibility for the attack.
A bus passenger said afterwards, "Suddenly we saw a white jeep, and the guards realized that it was coming towards us too quickly. There were shots, and then people in the bus started screaming and saying Shma Yisrael [the 'Hear O Israel... G-d is One' prayer]. After a short while there was a big explosion. We saw bullet marks on the windows... The first thing we did when we got off the bus was to hug each other; some people cried."
In another incident, two soldiers were hurt - one seriously - when two Palestinian terrorists were detected near the Gaza fence last night; the latter were presumably preparing to place a bomb near Kibbutz Nachal Oz just east of central Gaza. In a mishap that is now being investigated, the two soldiers set off on foot to engage them, while an IDF tank opened fire at the same time. Shrapnel from the tank shell struck the two, seriously wounding an officer of the rank of Major; they were transported to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva. The terrorists escaped. Alternative theories under investigation are that the foot soldiers were mistaken for terrorists, or that the order to open fire was executed by the wrong tank.
Palestinian terrorists fired a mortar rocket into the Gaza community of Gadid this morning, and in Shechem, soldiers were bombarded with rocks in the Askar slum; no injuries were reported.