At least two Israelis were dead today and one wounded all three civilians after a week-end of violence along the Arab-Israel borders from Gaza to the Jordan frontier, as Israel’s Arab neighbors “celebrated” the New Year week-end with attacks by land and air.
The latest of the aggression took place this morning when two Egyptian Vampire jet fighters flew over Israel positions in the southwestern Negev area. Immediately after the fighting planes had transgressed Israel territory, Egyptian outposts in the Gaza border strip started firing at an Israel army patrol on the Israel side of the border.
That was the fourth in a series of Gaza border incidents that started Friday when the Egyptians and the Israelis engaged in a two-hour exchange of firing that followed Egyptian shelling of an Israel patrol near the settlement of Kisuffim. All the Egyptian attacks and attempts to cross into Israel territory were repulsed.
The worst of the attacks, resulting in the three civilian casualties, took place on the Beersheba-Eilat road. There, infiltrators ambushed a jeep which was followed by a road grader, killing Shimeon Schwartz, 24, and Abraham Eretzkedosha, 21, and wounding a third man. The infiltrators had first wounded the three men by opening surprise fire then they approached the jeep and killed the two men in cold blood. The wounded driver escaped.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
