JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israel’s Air Force attacked a Palestinian smuggling tunnel connecting Gaza and Egypt in retaliation for mortar fire at Israel from Gaza.
Three Palestinians were killed in the attack early Tuesday morning when the tunnel collapsed, Palestinian officials told Israel’s daily Ha’aretz.
An Israeli soldier was injured when two mortar shells fired from Gaza landed near an IDF base Monday, following an exchange of gunfire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen at the border fence with Gaza, which killed one Palestinian, according to Israeli media reports.
The Israeli soldiers reportedly saw the Palestinians approaching the border fence, and when Israeli soldiers approached, the Palestinians opened fire. The soldiers returned fire, killing one Palestinian, according to the Jerusalem Post. The other two escaped into Gaza.
It was the first incident on the Gaza border in two weeks, when Palestinians fired rockets on southern Israel over the course of three days.
