Two Israeli citizens were safely returned and arrested after crossing the barrier with the Gaza Strip overnight Thursday, with the IDF emphasizing that they never actually entered the coastal enclave.
IDF surveillance spotted the two people crossing through a gate in the fence into the buffer zone area between Israel and Gaza. Israeli forces were dispatched to the scene to take them into custody before they were handed over to the police.
“We emphasize that the citizens did not cross into the territory of the Gaza Strip. The approach to the obstacle area is dangerous and interferes with the activities of the security forces in the area,” the IDF said.
Sept. 8 marked a decade since Avera Mengistu, an Israeli from Ashkelon then 28 years old, was captured by Hamas in Gaza.
Ten years ago, in the aftermath of the 2014 Gaza war (“Operation Protective Edge”), Mengistu breached the border fence near Zikim Beach and was subsequently captured by Hamas. He had struggled with mental health issues.
Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin from southern Israel who was also mentally ill, also crossed the fence in 2015 was taken captive by Hamas.
The bodies of soldiers Lt. Hadar Goldin and St. Sgt. Oron Shaul, captured during “Operation Protective Edge,” were also being held by Hamas before the Oct. 7 attack, in which the terrorist group captured another 251 civilians and soldiers, with 97 remaining in Gaza, both alive and dead.
