Israel’s Air Force attacked what it said was a terror squad planning to kidnap Israelis over the Passover holiday, killing three.
The Israeli military stuck the men riding in a car in southern Gaza early Saturday morning.
The IDF said in a statement that the three men killed in the attack, a joint operation of the army and the Shin Bet security service, were members of a squad of terrorists intending to “execute kidnappings during the upcoming Passover holiday in the Sinai Peninsula and in Israel.”
Hamas issued a statement saying the killed men were members of their organization. The organization said it would take revenge for the strike.
Israel’s Counter-Terror Bureau later on Saturday called on Israelis to leave the Sinai Peninsula immediately, saying that Israeli intelligence agencies had concrete information of plans by terrorists to kidnap or attack Israelis vacationing there over the Passover holiday.
“Hamas continues to operate in every way possible in order to harm Israeli civilians,” the IDF statement said. “The IDF will respond with strength and determination to any attempt to use terror against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip.”
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