BICOM

Eight Israelis were killed and more than 30 injured in a combined terror attack along Israel’s border with Egypt in the south of Israel yesterday. The attack was planned in the Gaza Strip by the Popular Resistance Committees and perpetrated by terrorists who crossed from Gaza into Sinai via smuggling tunnels and from the Sinai Peninsula infiltrated into Israel about 15 kilometres north of Eilat. The terrorists opened fire on an Israeli bus along Road 12 near the southern city of Eilat at around 12:30pm (Israel time). The shooting incident was followed by a roadside bomb that detonated near an IDF vehicle on the Israeli side of the Egyptian border. Additional mortar fire was reported from Egypt to Israel and an anti-tank missile was fired at a car, killing four passengers. An additional shooting attack took place yesterday evening, close to the scene of an earlier attack, in which two people were critically wounded.

Israel had received intelligence regarding a possible attack in the south and deployed the necessary security personnel to the area. There has been a marked deterioration in the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula since the toppling of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, which has led to increase terrorist activity in Sinai Peninsula, and greater movement of weapons smuggled from Gaza into Egypt. The special security forces and police rushed to the scenes of the incident and engaged in gunfire with several of the terrorists for a number of hours. During the ensuing gunfight, a Special Forces soldier and seven terrorists were killed in the exchange. The search for the rest of the terrorist cell continued with helicopters and troops sweeping the area. At a press conference yesterday evening, OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Tal Russo said that security forces were on high alert for terror attacks coming from Sinai.  

In response to the terror attacks yesterday, the Israel Air Force struck at targets in Gaza along the Egypt-Rafah border. Palestinians in Gaza said that six people had been killed in the strikes including a senior commander in the Popular Resistance Committees, Kamal Abu Abed al-Nairab, who was reportedly responsible for ordering the attack. Israeli military officials confirmed an airstrike on southern Gaza, but gave no further details. Israel Radio reports this morning that ten grad rocket were fired by Palestinians from Gaza into Israel. The rockets landed in Beer Sheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon, Mostly falling in open areas causing no damage or injuries, but one of the missiles hit a building in an Ashdod industrial park, wounding six people, one of them seriously.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a special press conference last night said that Israel would respond firmly “when Israeli lives are hurt”. Netanyahu thanked the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Services) and the Israeli Defence Force for the work they do in combating terror and for “wiping out” the leaders of the organisations responsible for the attack. The prime minister also sent his condolences to the grieving families and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that the source of the attacks was from Gaza. “The incident shows the weakening Egyptian grip on Sinai and the widening operation of terrorists there. The source of these terror acts is in Gaza and we will act against them with full force,” Barak said.

International condemnation also followed the attack. On hearing the news Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said, “I condemn these appalling and senseless acts of violence. As efforts for peace in the region continue, this brutality has no place, nor its perpetrators any excuse. My thoughts and prayers are with those killed and injured and I offer sincere condolences to their families and friends.”
US White House Spokesperson Jay Carney said that the US government condemns “the brutal terrorist attacks in southern Israel in the strongest terms…The US and Israel stand united against terror and we hope that those behind the attacks will be brought to justice swiftly.”