MAVKIM, ISRAEL – MAY 06: Israeli soldiers walks in front of a Merkava tanks, stationed near the border with the Gaza Strip on May 6, 2019 in Mavkim, Israel. Palestinian leaders in Gaza agreed a ceasefire with Israel on today to end a deadly two-day escalation in violence that threatened to widen into war. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images) JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli soldiers shot three suspected Palestinian terrorists on Wednesday who had crossed the Gaza border fence into southern Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the infiltrators were hiding in a wooded area opposite Kibbutz Kissufim near the border. After one of the infiltrators threw what the IDF identified as “an explosive charge or grenade” at the Israeli troops pursuing them, the soldiers opened fire.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, sent the infiltrators, Ynet reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources in Gaza.
Haaretz identified the infiltrators as teenagers from central Gaza aged 16-18.
Hamas called the killing an “ugly crime.”
“While the Israeli leadership is busy welcoming leaders from all around the world, Israeli tanks killed three Palestinians in cold blood,” the terror group said in a statement, Ynet reported. “This is a message to all those arriving in Israel, all they [Israelis] know is killing.”
The statement referred to the gathering of world leaders who will be attending the World Holocaust Forum being held Thursday in Jerusalem.
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