Tension has risen in Gaza with Israel killing a civil official in Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, amid escalating threats from both sides prior to the arrival of the Egyptian security delegation to the strip.
Israeli soldiers shot dead a field leader near the border of northern Gaza.
The Israeli army confirmed the forces fired on two "armed suspects approaching the fence in the northern Gaza Strip," refusing to provide further details.
The health ministry in Gaza said that 28-year-old Palestinian Mahmoud al-Adham was shot and killed in Thursday’s incident near Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the territory.
Al-Qassam said that it would not let the death go "unpunished" and that Israel "would bear the consequences of this criminal act," according to a statement.
In response to this threat, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a meeting at city hall in the coastal city of Ashkelon: “I prefer that there be calm. But we are preparing for a campaign that is not only broad but also surprising."
Interior Ministry spokesman in Gaza Iyad al-Bazm said that the ministry and the national security have conducted an emergency maneuver simulating an abrupt security threat – this falls under testing the readiness of the security bodies and forces.
Officials from Hamas said that the exercise imitated Israeli special forces units' incursion.
According to the ministry's statement, the maneuver was conducted due to the enemy’s attempts to subvert the security and the state’s ruling.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian delegation has convened with Israeli security officials and is planning to meet Hamas officials in Gaza to discuss understandings with Israel and the Palestinian reconciliation. Before Gaza, the delegation arrived in Ramallah to discuss the dispute about the reconciliation issue.
