Israel Defense Forces soldiers on Tuesday evening eliminated six armed terrorists during an exchange of fire in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military confirmed on Wednesday morning.
“Following searches conducted in the area, it can now be confirmed that the 7th Brigade’s combat team eliminated all six terrorists during the exchange of fire,” the IDF said, adding that various weapons were discovered on the bodies of the terrorists.
The military said it considered the assault on its soldiers a “serious violation” of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal with Hamas and vowed to “continue to act against any attempt by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip to carry out terror attacks against soldiers and civilians.”
On Tuesday night, the IDF said that troops had opened fire after observers identified the six terrorists approaching soldiers in the western Rafah area.
“Immediately following the identification, tanks arrived in the area and fired at the terrorists. The terrorists fired toward the forces in one of the tanks and an exchange of fire began that included airstrikes,” read the initial statement, which only confirmed the deaths of two terrorists.
“The forces are continuing searches in the area for the terrorists and the incident is still ongoing,” the military stated at the time, adding: “This is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Tuesday’s incident marked the latest in a string of near-daily flare-ups. On Monday, the military stated it killed three armed terrorists who had crossed the truce-instituted Yellow Line in southern Gaza, saying they had attempted to gather intelligence on troop movements in the area.
In addition, Israeli troops found two rocket launchers during operations in northern and southern Gaza, the military announced on Wednesday.
Soldiers from the IDF’s Northern Gaza Brigade found a launcher loaded with a projectile that was aimed toward Israeli territory, the army stated.
In a separate operation in the southern Strip, soldiers from the 188th Armored Brigade found a multi-barrel launcher with a rocket placed next to it, it said, adding that the launcher and rocket were destroyed.
בפעילות בצפון ובדרום רצועת עזה: כוחות צה"ל איתרו שני משגרי רקטות
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כוחות צה"ל ממשיכים להשמיד תשתיות טרור במרחב הקו הצהוב בצפון ובדרום רצועת עזה.
אתמול, במהלך פעילות של כוחות החטיבה הצפונית להשמדת תשתיות טרור בצפון הרצועה, הכוחות איתרו משגר טעון עם רקטה מכוונת לשטח מדינת ישראל.… pic.twitter.com/kABOw7Yq9l
The truce deal brokered by the Trump administration has hit an impasse as Hamas persists in its refusal to lay down its weapons.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal last month repeated calls for the Jewish state’s destruction, rejecting U.S.- and U.N.-backed demands to disarm the Iranian-supported terrorist group and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.
The top terrorist likewise dismissed “all forms of guardianship, mandate and re-occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and all of Palestine,” rejecting another key part of President Donald Trump’s plan, which received unanimous support of the U.N. Security Council on Nov. 17.
Hamas has also failed to return the body of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, reportedly to delay its disarmament, which is set to take place in the second phase of the deal with a deployment of a stabilization force.
However, Trump was expected to announce Phase 2 on Wednesday and will name 15 members of a Palestinian civilian committee that would be managing Gaza, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials.
Bulgarian diplomat and former U.N. Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov will be named as the top member of the Trump-led Board of Peace, the Journal reported.
U.S. officials told the newspaper that despite “sporadic” violations, the ceasefire was holding and Hamas had returned all but one hostage, clearing the way to move to the next stage of the 20-point plan.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday morning to “stand by his promise” that he would not allow the start of Phase 2 until Gvili was returned.
“Moving to Phase 2 at this time, when efforts to bring Ran back have not yet been exhausted, would mean losing the most significant lever of pressure [on Hamas] and could amount to a de facto sentence of permanent disappearance for Ran,” the statement warned.
