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IDF activity near attack site
Photo: Yoav Zitun

Probe: Why wasn't terrorist spotted?

IDF Southern Command launches investigation into infiltration that left one soldier dead Friday morning; forces failed to spot Gaza terrorist despite initial alert

The IDF Southern Command has launched a probe into the infiltration of a Gaza terrorist who killed Staff-Sergeant Netanel Moshiashvili Friday morning.

 

The terrorist managed to cut the border fence, cross into Israel unspotted and surprise Golani brigade troops stationed in the area, before soldiers shot back and killed him.

 

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The attacker who ambushed the troops advanced through an area within Gaza that is banned for Palestinian movement, taking advantage of topographical conditions to evade IDF surveillance.

 

An initial probe showed that the terrorist entered Israeli early in the morning while heavy fog covered the area, thereby hindering IDF radars and cameras. The army noted that forces regularly thwart attempts to approach the Gaza fence and plant explosives in the area.

 

According to the investigation, an initial alert was received after the terrorist touched the fence, but IDF surveillance failed to spot the infiltrator and inform forces at the site.

 

The army is also looking into the possibility that the terrorist used special equipment to cut the fence and displayed a higher skill level and more courage than potential infiltrators in the past.

 

Meanwhile, officials dismissed earlier Palestinian claims that the attack was meant to abduct an Israeli soldier. IDF officers said that the terrorist acted alone and that troops scouring the attack site did not find a tunnel opening. Officials added that the infiltration was not accompanied by diversionary fire elsewhere in the region as is usually the case in abduction attempts.

 

 

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פרסום ראשון: 06.01.12, 20:30
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