Israeli forces operated in the Gaza Strip overnight Thursday to destroy two tunnels built by Hamas for cross-border terrorist action against Israel. In the first operation, by a combat engineering unit near Khan Younes, five Israeli servicemen were injured – one seriousl, two moderately and two lightly. Among them were a lieutenant-colonel and a major. They ran into a bomb trap followed by Hama mortar fire on their way to blow up both ends of the tunnel, whose Israeli section was discovered near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha last month. In the firefight, Hamas lost one man dead and one injured.
Palestinian sources report that the Israeli unit went in with tanks and APCs under helicopter gunship cover.
In the second operatoin, the Israeli air force struck and destroyed a second tunnel east of Karare. Three Hamas terrorists were killed, raising the number of Palestinian dead Thursday night to four.debka.com