A Palestinian fighter on Friday morning crossed the border between Gaza and Israel and killed an Israeli soldier before being shot himself. Following this incident, Israel retaliated with a missile strike that left three Gazans wounded. Palestinian militants also fired rockets from Gaza but without causing damage inside the Israeli territory, the Israeli army said.
According to sources in Gaza, the cell behind the morning attack was affiliated with the Islamic Jihad organization, which has denied any involvement. Hamas, which controls the Palestinian enclave, failed to comment about the incident.
The Israeli army believes that the attacker has crossed the border in order to kill civilians. Palestinian sources said he aimed at kidnapping a soldier. .
Palestinian witnesses said they heard an explosion and gunfire near Abassan, a village in southern Gaza near the border between Israel and Egypt. According to these witnesses, Israeli forces have created smokescreens to allow their helicopters to fly over the scene of the incident.
Israel blamed the border attack on Hamas. "The terrorist organization Hamas is solely responsible for any terrorist activity from Gaza," an Israeli military source stressed.
