7 terrorists killed in destruction of tunnel along Gaza border

At least 7 terrorists were killed and 12 wounded when the IDF Southern Command destroyed a terror tunnel found near Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Monday afternoon (10/30), AFP reported.

A senior figure in the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization was among the dead.

The tunnel was detonated from within Israel, close to the security fence.

(afp.com)

 

Netanyahu warns enemies ‘not to test our will’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a ceremony Tuesday (31st) to pay homage to Australian and New Zealand soldiers for their role in liberating the city of Beersheba from Turkey a century ago, where he also used his speech to deliver a stern warning against Israel’s enemies not “to test the will of the State of Israel or the army of Israel.”

“We attack those who seek to attack us.  And those who contemplate that, I strongly advise you: “Do not test us or our army,” he stated.

(ynetnews.com; ap.com)

 

Rivlin: We won’t take provocation above or below the ground

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited the officers training base in the Negev Tuesday (10/31).

During the tour of the base, the president referred to the destruction of the terror tunnel by the IDF Monday (10/30), stating that “yesterday you proved who we have to rely on.  You performed an important mission which sent a clear message – we won’t accept provocations from above or below ground.  We will act to curb all those who wish to harm us.”

(israelnn.com)

 

IDF chief: ‘Tunnel demolition removed threat on Israeli citizens’

The IDF demolition of an offensive border-crossing tunnel in Gaza “has removed a threat on the citizens of Israel,” IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said Tuesday (10/31).

“This operation joins the many operations – both covert and overt – that IDF forces are carrying out and will continue to carry out against any threat, at any time, and in any situation,” Eisenkot continued.  “This was an impressive operational achievement by the Southern Command – worthy of praise – in response to the violation of Israeli sovereignty.”

Eisenkot warned Gaza terrorists not to retaliate for the attack-tunnel’s destruction: “Any response or violation of Israeli sovereignty will be answered with determination and in a forceful and clear way, as we did yesterday.”

(timesofisrael.com; israelnn.com)

 

‘Israel will not apologize for killing terrorists’

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett refuse to retract that the IDF must not apologize for killing terrorists.

Bennett said that the destruction of the tunnel and the liquidation of the terrorists inside it conveyed a clear message: “Israel will not apologize for the killing of terrorists and will do whatever is necessary to protect Israel.”

Bennett made the remarks during a meeting with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner.

(education.gov.il)

 

Exploded tunnel was dug for soldier abductions, Gaza terror leader says

Senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh said Tuesday (10/31) that the attack tunnel stretching from Gaza into Israeli territory that was blown up by the IDF the previous day had been built by his group for the purpose of kidnapping Israeli soldiers.

“The purpose of the tunnel was kidnapping soldiers in order to free Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails,” Batsh said.

(afp.com; timesofisrael.com)

 

PA accuses Israel of using poison gas to destroy tunnel

Palestinian Authority (PA) officials accused Israel of using poison gas when the IDF destroyed a terrorist-tunnel leading from Gaza into Israel on Monday (10/30), Palestinian Media Watch reported.

PA Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra told the PA’s official news station that: “Most of the injuries among the martyrs and wounded occurred during the inhalation of gas…. Therefore we call on all the international organizations to stop these materials that the Israeli occupation is using against our people….”

(palwatch.org)

 

Iran condemns ‘bloodsucking Zionist regime’

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday (10/30) condemned Israel for destroying a terrorist tunnel leading from Gaza into Israel, resulting in the deaths of at least seven, including a senior member of the Islamic Jihad.

Bahram Qasemi, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran, condemned what he called the “brutal attack by the Zionist regime fighters” on Gaza.

He noted, according to the Iranian IRNA news agency, that the “Blood-sucking Zionist regime in its vain delusion wants to weaken the resolve of the oppressed Palestinian nation through the massacre of Palestinian youth.”

(irna.ir)  

 

Israel reaches out to its Syrian neighbors – Neri Zilber

On any given night, the IDF is active on multiple points on the Syrian frontier, interacting with locals on the other side.  At the operations hub of the Good Neighbor administration on the Golan Heights are metal shipping containers brimming with spaghetti, baby formula and diapers, warm clothing and blankets, school supplies and fuel jerrycans.

Children in need of specialists are bussed to Israeli hospitals, sometimes daily.  “For a five-year-old who has only known war, that day in Israel might be the best of their lives,” said Lt. Col. E, commander of the Good Neighbor administration.  “They see that the Jews treat them with respect.  They’re my ambassadors.”  “If we weren’t doing this, someone else would be,” E said, alluding to Hizbullah.  “There’s no such thing as a vacuum in this region.”

(politico.com)

 

Islamic State threat is alive at Israel’s doorstep despite losses elsewhere – Yaakov Lappin

In Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the Islamic State-affiliated Sinai Province terror group continues to deliver deadly attacks on Egyptian security forces and occasionally fires rockets into Israel – including an attack in mid-October.

Yoram Schweitzer, head of the Program on Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said Egypt’s counter-terror campaign “has some achievements, but not enough to solve the problem and to significantly lower ISIS’ activities.

“I don’t think Sinai Province is getting stronger.  To a certain extent, it is weaker, but not enough to be repressed.”

An Israeli security source familiar with the Sinai sector confirmed “tactical cooperation” between Israeli and Egyptian security forces on the border.

She noted that Egypt’s border police forces have constructed posts with openings facing the Israeli side.  “They understand that Israel is the safe side.”

(jns.org)