An Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier was killed on Friday and four more were injured after gunfire near the Gaza Strip border, the Haaretz newspaper reported.IDF said that a cell of terrorists was situated along the fence near Kibbutz Nirim, in central Gaza, on Friday night and opened fire on Israeli soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade with automatic weapons and mortars.
The gunfire lasted approximately 20 minutes, the paper said, and the injured soldiers were transported by helicopter to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba. Initially it was reported that the attack occurred as the militants waited in an ambush for an IDF patrol and opened fire when it passed by.
However, the IDF said that a paratrooper's patrol noticed a group of armed people approaching the border fence under the cover of the fog of the night. It is believed that the group intended to plant explosives at a nearby base.
A firefight broke out close to the Kibbutz Be'eri and took IDF soldiers by surprise. The suspected militants opened fire first and killed a soldier and injured four before IDF forces returned fire.
On early Friday, a protest erupted in the Gaza Strip over the death of 66-year-old Omar Kawasmeh, who was killed by mistake during an IDF arrest raid in Hebron on Thursday night.
Violence has continued in the disputed Gaza Strip between pro-Hamas Palestinians and IDF forces. Two Palestinians were shot by IDF soldiers as they were in the no-go zone on Wednesday. The two men were walking along the length of the border between Kfar Aza and Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombed two targets in central Gaza in retaliation for a Qassam rocket attack in Ashkelon, southern Israel, which did not result in injuries or damage.
(Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved.
