Barrel detonated at Palmachim
Photo: Avi Moalem
Suspected buoy from explosive barrel reaches Netanya
Styrofoam buoy located off Netanya shore, some 90 km (56 miles) from Gaza, suspected to have been attached to explosive-laden barren sent by Hamas to Israel's shores. Object sent to police explosives lab for analysis
The suspicious object located Wednesday off the shores of Netanya apparently was part of a buoy attached to one of the three explosive-laden barrels that have washed up on Israel's beaches in as many days. Netanya is some 90 km (about 56 miles) from the Gaza Strip.
Police sappers detonated a third barrel found on Wednesday on Palmachim beach.
The police received a report of a suspicious object floating in the water off of Neurim Beach in Netanya. Large police forces that were dispatched to the scene closed of the area and kept civilians from approaching. A helicopter was also ordered to the scene along with a police sapper.
Unmanned bulldozer brought to Palmachim beach (Photo: AFP)
An initial examination revealed the object to be a buoy; however the police asked to look into its origins out of concern that additional barrels of explosives would wash ashore. A police source said that the buoy entirely unexceptional, which only heightened suspicions that it was originally attached to one of the explosive packages that washed ashore earlier.
The buoy was not attached to anything, and was transferred to a police explosives lab for analysis. The buoy is similar to the Styrofoam buoys attached to the barrels found on the beach in the past few days. Estimates are that the Netanya buoy was attached to another such barrel, but for some reason become disconnected while floating at sea.
Earlier on Wednesday, police sappers detonated an explosive barrel that washed up on Palmachim beach. The police also initiated searches of the area.
Palmachim beach is some 13 km (about 8 miles) from Ashdod beach, the northern-most site at which barrel has been located thus far.
The police continue to be on high alert at all bathing areas along the Mediterranean coast. This includes foot patrols, motor patrols, and aerial monitoring.
In an official statement issued this week by organizations in the Gaza Strip who took responsibility for launching the barrels via the sea, their spokesman said that they sent out eight barrels in total towards Israel's shores. Thus far, five of them have been located.
Two of the barrels mysteriously detonated near Gaza over the weekend. Another two were located along the shores of Ashdod and Ashkelon on Tuesday. The fifth barrel was located Wednesday at Palmachim beach.
