BICOM

A number of explosive devices were detonated on the Gaza border fence this morning as the Israeli army patrolled the area.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), four devices exploded during a patrol between the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood inside Gaza and Kibbutz Nahal Oz in Israel. No damage was caused to the military vehicles and the soldiers were not hurt.

In response, the IDF fired 14 shells at six Hamas positions, which the IDF, holds responsible for any act of violence from Gaza. According to Palestinian sources, observation posts and a position in northern Gaza were attacked but it was not immediately clear whether any Palestinians were wounded.

It is the second time in a month that explosives have been used to target Israeli forces on the Gaza border. In February, two soldiers were seriously wounded and two others moderately wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near an IDF patrol around the border fence, close to kibbutz Ein HaShlosha.

The area of this morning’s attack is close to where hundreds of Gazans have staged protests every Friday since US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. As a result, the IDF launched an investigation into whether the bombs were once again planted by the demonstrators.

The attack comes just days after an explosive device was used to target the convoy of Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and General Intelligence Chief Majed Faraj, who has been tipped to be a possible successor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

The PA initially blamed Hamas for the explosion, but the investigation led by General Tawfiq Abu Naim, head of Gaza’s Interior Ministry, is still ongoing. According to Gaza’s Deputy Interior Minister Muhammad Mansour, “the explosion was precisely planned and carried out, which means that it was not done by individuals but rather professionals”.