Netanyahu: Five senior terrorists slain after Gazan fires at troops

The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday killed a terrorist in Gaza who opened fire at Israeli troops in a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.

The “terrorist crossed the Yellow Line in a jeep while driving on a humanitarian route, opened fire at IDF forces, and was eliminated within seconds,” the statement read.

In footage released by the military, the Palestinian apparently disembarked from a black jeep and started shooting at targets in front of him.

Retaliatory fire could be seen later in the video, with the terrorist falling to the ground.

“The terrorist opened fire at IDF forces deployed in southern Gaza, without causing any casualties. Immediately upon identification, forces of the Southern Brigade fired and eliminated the terrorist,” the army said.

In response, the IDF, guided by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), and with the assistance of the Israeli Air Force, struck Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip, the military added.

The Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem said in a statement that Israel killed five senior terrorists in response to the attack.

“Israel has fully honored the ceasefire, Hamas has not,” the statement read.

“Throughout the ceasefire, dozens of Hamas terrorists have crossed the Israeli lines to attack our troops, while they [the terrorists] execute Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We again call on the mediators to insist that Hamas fulfill its side of the ceasefire and [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s 20-point plan: Hamas must immediately return the three deceased hostages it is still holding and complete its disarmament and enable the total demilitarization of Gaza,” the Prime Minister’s Office stressed.

The three bodies held in the Gaza Strip belong to two Israelis—Dror Or from Kibbutz Be’eri, and Israel Police Sgt. Maj. Ran Gvili, who was killed in action at Kibbutz Alumim—and Thai agricultural worker Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was taken from Be’eri.

According to Axios correspondent Barak Ravid, the Trump administration gave its backing to Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Gaza in the wake of the incident.

“The attack was [carried out] at an area of recently reopened humanitarian aid. Israel has a policy, agreed upon with the mediators, that ceasefire violations will be met with immediate response,” Ravid cited a U.S. official as saying, without providing his name.

Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, Israeli security forces have withdrawn to a line that runs through the north, east and south of the Gaza Strip, with Israeli troops holding about 58% of the enclave to the line’s east.

This was not the first time that Gazan terrorists have crossed the Yellow Line against the terms of the truce, but it was the first time that a gunman exploited a humanitarian area to carry out an attack from a vehicle.

In a separate statement, the IDF said it completed on Saturday a 24-hour manhunt for 17 terrorists who attempted to escape the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah.

In total, 11 terrorists were killed and six were arrested and transferred for Shin Bet interrogation, the army said.

Soldiers from the Nahal Infantry Brigade’s combat team operating in the area were responsible for killing or capturing all of the terrorists, the statement read.

“IDF troops in the Southern Command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the military said.