The Israeli army said its troops fatally shot four heavily armed Palestinians on the Gaza border early Saturday who attempted to sneak to conduct an operation.
Israeli forces Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis told reporters that "a large-scale terrorist attack was thwarted."
He added that the cell’s military-grade preparedness and nature and scope of the equipment and weaponry its members carried, showed that there was a carefully prepared operation in motion. Manelis noted they were dressed in uniforms similar to that of the Israeli army and that they engaged in a gunfight with the soldiers before they were killed.
“We are still not sure if they were targeting troops or civilians, but we understand that this was a planned attack. You don’t wake up one day and plan to carry out an attack and arm yourself with all these weapons,” Manelis said.
Hamas doesn’t endorse such operations since they undermine the truce signed with Israel under Egyptian sponsorship.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said that Hamas bears full responsibility for what is happening in Gaza, especially when it comes to organized cells preparing for such kinds of aggressions.
Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif al-Qanoon was quoted as saying that “the occupation committed a new crime against a group of youth angry at the ongoing crimes and systematic terrorism and ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip.”
Qanoon warned that “the continuation of the crimes of the Zionist occupation and aggressive behavior and the unjust siege of Gaza will prompt angry and rebellious youth to respond,” and stressed that “the Zionist occupation bears the consequences of the anger and the pressure experienced by our people because of the continued siege of the Gaza Strip.”
