Israel – 2 IDF Soldiers Killed, 2 Wounded By Hamas Tunnel, As Israeli Bulldozers Destroy Hideouts

Israel – Two soldiers were killed and two were injured in a firefight with a Hamas terrorist squad that entered Israel via a cross-border tunnel from the central Gaza Strip on Saturday morning.

The incident occurred in Eshkol. Nine terrorists were heading towards an Israeli community, and encountered an IDF patrol, a senior military source said. One of the injured is a senior officer.

An exchange of fire ensued. One terrorist was shot dead in the gun battle and the remainder fled back into Gaza through the tunnel. The air force launched a subsequent air strikes on members of the cell in Gaza, apparently killing several of its members.

The squad of terrorists who were dressed in IDF uniforms, were armed with automatic weapons, RPGs, syringes, sedatives and handcuffs.

The IDF believes they planned to kidnap an Israeli and go on a killing spree in a community.

Below video: Israeli Defense Forces Strike Gaza Tunnel.

The IDF said an attempt to murder Israeli civilians was thwarted. The soldiers were later named as Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20, of Nahariya and Maj. Amotz Greenberg, 45, of Hod HaSharon.

“Unfortunately, we are in reality where this can happen,” the senior army source said, commenting on the battle.

Throughout the operation thus far, two IDF officers have been seriously injured, three officers and a soldier are in moderate condition, and an officer and five soldiers have been lightly injured in a number of armed clashes with terrorists in Gaza.

Large ground forces from the Paratroopers, Nahal, and Givati infantry brigades are working with the Armored Corps, the Engineering Corps, the Maglan special operation unit that works behind enemy lines, and other elite units.

Paratroopers encountered a terrorist in Gaza who emerged from a tunnel entrance and opened fire at soldiers on Saturday evening. The paratroopers returned fire, shooting the gunman dead.

Thirty four terror tunnels in Gaza and five additional cross-border attack tunnels have been discovered and destroyed by the army. Seventy Palestinian combatants have been killed – 20 of them on Saturday.

Thirteen terrorists have been arrested and are being questioned in Israel.

The IDF struck more than 450 targets from the air, sea, and land throughout the weekend.

Shimon Daniel, a retired brigadier general and former head of the Israeli military’s engineer corps, said the military knew that Hamas had a large number of tunnels designed to assault Israel.

“I think finding 13 tunnels in such a short time is a great achievement,” he told Channel 10 TV.

He said demolishing the tunnels is dangerous. Troops must assume the passages are booby trapped. Soldiers first close off the area and check for additional openings. Then robots go inside to look around, he said.

After that, the tunnels are destroyed either by special explosives or by heavy equipment. It can take up to 12 hours to destroy each tunnel.

“These tunnels aren’t for hiding. They are intended for large attacks in Israeli communities and army bases,” chief military spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz said.

Footage released by the Israeli military showed tunnels being demolished by army excavators and other equipment on the ground and by airstrikes from above.

“We are focusing on three efforts. The first is continued air strikes. The second is the taking over of [tunnel] targets [by ground units]. The last is preparing the next stage of this operation,” the source said.

Ground Forces are focusing on destroying Hamas’s extensive tunnel network. In their first few hours in Gaza, they were engaged by gunmen, and returned fire. In some cases, bombs were set off near the approaching military forces.

The source described the resistance encountered by the IDF as “low,” adding that the massive wave of fire launched by artillery and air strikes before the entrance of ground units help ensure that Hamas “kept its head down.” “Hamas was surprised by the patience of the Israeli public, and by the performance of Iron Dome,” the source said.

“It took Hamas years to plan the tunnel attack on Kibbutz Sufa,” the source added, referring to an attempt on Thursday by Hamas to send 13 heavily armed terrorists to the kibbutz to go on a killing spree, before being spotted and targeted with an air strike by the IDF.

Meanwhile, a source he added, “very large intelligence capabilities are being activated, and new targets are being acquired.”

The military said it has hit more than 2,500 targets in Gaza, including 1,100 rocket launchers, during the 12 days of fighting. It said that some 70 militants were killed and another 13 brought to Israel for questioning.

Gaza militants have fired more than 1,760 rockets at Israeli cities since July 8, the military said.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz talked with Golani and Armored Corps units on Saturday, and said “Our mission is to harm Hamas, undermine its military and operational capabilities, and provide a better reality in terms of security for Israel and its southern territories.” 

Gantz told the soldiers he was visiting, they must comb through “this area and locate all tunnels…This state of emergency means war.”

“You have enemies,” he said; “and a mission.” He said the task in front of us was to neutralize the terror tunnels.

Israeli officials have said the offensive could last up to two weeks or possibly longer.