An Israeli soldier was killed and five other people were injured this Thursday after being shot in an attack perpetrated near an Israeli checkpoint located south of the city of Jerusalem, according to the Israel Police, which detailed that three terrorists were “neutralized” in the area.
Intelligence services identified the attackers as members of Hamasa point later confirmed by the armed group linked to this militia, the Ezzedin al Qassam Brigadeswho have claimed responsibility for the shooting, according to the newspaper Haaretz.
An Israeli Army spokesman identified the slain soldier as 20-year-old Avraham Fetena.
One of the victims said that the attackers were traveling aboard a vehicle and that all the doors opened at the same time, giving rise to indiscriminate shots in different directions. Security forces responded quickly to the shooting.
The Israel Police indicated through the social network “After inspecting the vehicle (…) it was clear that it had a duplicate license plate,” the authorities said, while confirming the confiscation of several weapons.
Police authorities also revealed that In the vehicle they found two M-16 rifles, two pistols, two axes, hundreds of bullets and clothing that resembles the uniform of the Israeli Army.
The intelligence services of the Shin Bet agency will participate in the investigation, since authorities think they thwarted “a much larger attack.”
The event takes place in the midst of the uptick in violence so far this year, which has intensified after the attacks perpetrated on October 7 by Hamas terrorists in Israeli territory, which left around 1,200 dead and nearly 240 kidnapped.
Meanwhile, the authorities of the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamist group, report the death of more than 11,500 people due to the Israeli offensive against the enclave, while more than 180 Palestinians have died in the West Bank and Jerusalem at the hands of Israeli security forces and in attacks by settlers.
The Minister of Defense of Israel, Yoav Gallantassured this Thursday that Israeli troops are controlling the western part of Gaza City and are heading towards a new stage of their ground offensive on the enclave.
“We have gained control of the western part of Gaza City” and “we are moving towards the next phase” of the invasion of Gaza, the minister said, according to a statement released by his office.
His statements come hours after the Israeli Army announced that it also took control of the Gaza port, in the same area of the city, in an operation carried out in recent days, while the troops deepen their advance in the Strip in the 41 day of war with the Islamist group Hamas.
“The further we advance in the operation, the more we will increase the pressure on Hamas and we will be able to eliminate its terrorist infrastructure, including its headquarters and tunnels, while at the same time we will eliminate its leaders and agents,” Gallant stressed.
(With information from Europa Press and EFE)
Source-www.infobae.com