BICOM

Despite the general quiet in the Gaza border region, a shooting took place in the area yesterday, while this morning the Israeli army uncovered a tunnel that appeared to be designed for infiltration into Israel.

Israel’s border with Gaza has been mostly calm since the ceasefire which brought an end to Operation Pillar of Defence in November and there has been a subsequent cessation in rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza.

However, yesterday a Palestinian farmer named as Mustafa Abu Jarad was reportedly killed having been shot in the head in Beit Lahiya, which is situated close to the border with Israel. Palestinian medical officials accused Israeli soldiers of having shot Abu Jarad, but an Israeli military spokeswoman said that checks had been made “and apparently the incident is not related to the Israeli army.” Reuters sited an unnamed source which suspected that the shooting had been carried out by a Palestinian.

Meanwhile, this morning the Israeli army announced that IDF forces had discovered an entrance to a tunnel near the Gaza border in Israeli territory. Israeli forces were alerted to a ground collapse near to the village of Nir Oz and on closer inspection Engineering Corps troops discovered the tunnel entrance. An IDF spokesman said that the tunnel had been constructed for “aggressive purposes” and said “This attempt to carry out terrorist attacks against citizens and security forces in Israeli territory is viewed in very serious terms by the army.” In 2006, underground tunnels originating in Gaza were used in the cross-border raid which resulted in the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.