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Tensions Mount on Israel’s Borders Facing Gaza Strip and Syria

August 20, 1963
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Tensions continued to mount today along the Israeli-Arab borders, as more shootings took place last night on the southern border near the Gaza Strip and in the north where the Syrians attacked again.

Along the Gaza Strip, the shooting was done by the Israelis, one of their border patrols discovering a group of infiltrators armed with submachineguns and commando knives. One of the infiltrators was killed, and a second was wounded. The attempted raid indicated to knowledgeable Israelis that the Egyptians were stepping up their intelligence efforts along the border, sending in fedayeen (commandoes) to act as marauders and as spies. The weapons captured from the two felled men were of the type usually carried by the fedayeen.

In the north, Syrians fired again at a group of Israeli workers, attacking farmers in the Ashmura area of the Huleh region. An Israeli border patrol guarding the farmers returned the fire. For the rest of the night, Syrians kept up sporadic firing in the area. There were no Israeli casualties as a result of these attacks. Work was resumed at Ashmura today, as United Nations military observers investigated last night’s attacks.

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