A suspected Hamas terrorist was detained by Israel Defense Forces soldiers on Wednesday after approaching the Gaza border, the military said.
The unarmed suspect “was apprehended and transferred to security forces for further questioning,” according to the IDF. “The details and identity of the suspect are currently under review.”
The army said there was no infiltration into Israeli territory and that it remained in continuous contact with security coordinators of “relevant communities” near the border.
Israel’s Ynet news outlet reported that the suspect was apprehended near the Kerem Shalom crossing, in an area where humanitarian aid trucks are parked.
The crossing is located adjacent to Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, an Israeli community less than half a mile from the border.
Overnight Tuesday, the IDF struck four rocket launch sites across the Gaza Strip, saying they had been established under the cover of the ceasefire with Hamas.
The launch pads were ready “to fire rockets against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and therefore posed an immediate threat,” according to the military.
The positions were said to have been established by terrorist organizations “in recent weeks,” months after the U.S.-brokered truce went into effect on Oct. 10, 2025.
The current truce in the Gaza Strip ended the two-year war that began when Hamas, other Palestinian terrorist groups and Gazan “civilians” invaded the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
Top Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashaal and Musa Abu Marzouk, have rejected key parts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza in recent months, including disarmament, despite having agreed to the proposal in October.
Jerusalem says any long-term agreement must include the disarmament of Hamas, its removal from power in Gaza and its exclusion from governing the coastal territory.
