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Terrorism

5 soldiers dead, 6 wounded in Gaza assault


By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
December 12, 2004

Amid talks of a “Palestinian” ceasefire in the run-up to the January 9 PA chairmanship election, Arab terror groups in Gaza launched a major assault against IDF soldiers guarding the border with Egypt Sunday.

Five Israelis were killed and another six wounded when two “suicide” bombers detonated themselves against soldiers stationed near the Rafah border-crossing terminal along the border with Egypt, according to media reports.

A tunnel dug under an army outpost adjacent to the terminal and packed with a reported one ton of explosives was simultaneously detonated. The force of the explosion is said to have collapsed several structures in the area, possibly trapping at least one soldier under the rubble.

The blasts were followed by intense Arab gunfire and mortar attacks.

Israeli rescue helicopters came under heavy fire, and at times were unable to land to extract the wounded, SMS Israel reported.

A fierce firefight between terrorists and Israeli troops raged for hours, and the IDF shut down the border terminal indefinitely.

The Hamas and Fatah terrorist organizations claimed credit for the assault.

A senior Fatah official was quoted by Ynet as saying the killings were “revenge for the murder of Yasser Arafat at the hands of the Zionist enemy.”

In locations throughout the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Arabs poured into the streets in celebration after hearing about the Israeli casualties.

Meanwhile, the bombardment of Jewish communities in and adjacent to Gaza by Arab rocket and mortar crews continued Sunday.

Just around the time of the Rafah assault, two anti-tank missiles were fired at the nearby Negev kibbutz of Kerem Shalom. Residents of the community were warned to remain indoors as heavy fighting continued in southern Gaza.

A short time earlier, a “Palestinian” mortar shell slammed into the southern Gaza Jewish community of Kfar Darom.

The settlement of Netzer-Hazani was pounded with four mortars during the afternoon hours, and a single shell damaged a parked car in the Negev town of Netiv Ha’Asarah.

During the morning hours, terrorists fired four mortars at the Gaza town of Nisanit, heavily damaging its community center.

Five “Palestinian” youths reportedly sustained light injuries Sunday in Gaza’s Khan Yunis when an IDF tank fired at terrorists who continue to violate the Geneva Convention by basing themselves out of civilian areas.

The targets of the tank fire were those responsible for many of the mortar attacks against nearby Jewish communities.

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