Major Hamas terror attack thwarted on Gaza border

Just before a five-hour U.N.-brokered "humanitarian" pause in Operation Protective Edge went into effect on Thursday morning, Hamas terrorists attempted to carry out a major attack in Kibbutz Sufa near the Gaza border.

Around 4 a.m. on Thursday, IDF troops identified a group of 13 terrorists trying to infiltrate the kibbutz after entering Israeli territory through a tunnel under the border. Israeli soldiers surprised the terrorists, who tried to flee back to Gaza through the tunnel. IAF aircraft targeted the escaping terrorists from the air. It is believed most of the terrorists were killed. No Israeli soldiers or civilians were wounded in the incident.

The IDF said it was on alert for further attempts to carry out similar attacks in the coming days.

"We can assume the terrorists were planning to kidnap civilians or conduct a mass-casualty attack," IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz said.

After the incident, IDF troops performed searches in the area to ensure there were no terrorists remaining in Israeli territory.

Also on Thursday morning, terrorists in Gaza fired barrages of rockets at the Tel Aviv and Beersheba regions. The Iron Dome intercepted rockets that threatened populated areas, while other rockets fell in open land. A number of Israelis were treated for shock or injuries suffered while running for cover.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet decided on Wednesday night that the Israeli military would hold its fire on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Israel time), acceding to a request from Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, for a "unilateral humanitarian pause."

Later on Wednesday night, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that, following consultations with various factions in Gaza, the pause would be respected and rocket and mortar fire would be halted during those hours.

However, at around noon on Thursday, three mortar shells struck open areas in the Eshkol region of southern Israel.

Israeli officials said Israel decided to agree to the pause not only for humanitarian reasons, but also to allow Gaza terrorist leaders to emerge from hiding and see firsthand the level of destruction in Gaza.

Netanyahu updated ministers on Wednesday on the efforts being made by Middle East Quartet representative Tony Blair to promote the Egyptian-drafted cease-fire proposal, which has been officially rejected by Hamas.

An Israeli delegation, led by Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, reportedly traveled to Cairo on Wednesday for indirect cease-fire talks with Hamas officials, mediated by Egypt.

Earty Thursday afternoon, there were unconfirmed reports that a cease-fire would go into effect Friday morning.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited Cairo on Wednesday and met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. The two discussed the Egyptian cease-fire proposal. Abbas also met with deputy Hamas political office chief Moussa Abu Marzouk.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri expressed disappointment on Wednesday over the rejection by Hamas and Islamic Jihad of the Egyptian cease-fire proposal.

Meanwhile, the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet on Wednesday approved the call-up of an additional 8,000 reservist soldiers. Around 45,000 reservists have already been summoned.

"[World leaders] understand our battle against Hamas terrorists, who are seeking to fire rockets on our cities," Netanyahu said at a press conference with visiting Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini on Wednesday.

"They killed an Israeli citizen yesterday, but they're targeting millions of our citizens, directly targeting them with rocket fire, which is a war crime, and also using their own civilians as human shields -- another war crime. We've been trying to find a solution to this problem.

"Yesterday I accepted the Egyptian cease-fire proposal. This was a proposal that was endorsed by the U.N. secretary-general and by the Arab League. Israel accepted the cease-fire, Hamas rejected it. We held our fire for six hours, and during that time Hamas continued to barrage our cities with rockets. Hamas thus shut the door to a diplomatic solution and it therefore bears the sole responsibility for the continuation of the violence."

Turning to Mogherini, Netanyahu said, "Imagine that your cities of Rome, Florence and Milan were rocketed indiscriminately by a terrorist group next to you. You wouldn't accept it. And you'd fight back. And that's what Israel is doing. We're fighting back. Those who are firing at us are not seeking a political solution. Those who are firing at us are seeking the disappearance of Israel, the destruction of Israel. And so for them we have one answer: we will fight you and we will defeat you. That is something that we are committed to do. And I think that's important for peace. I think that the most important thing vis-a-vis Gaza is to ensure that Gaza is demilitarized from rockets and from the attack tunnels that Hamas is seeking, is building into Israel."

U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that his country would use all its diplomatic resources and relationships to secure a cease-fire deal.

Obama said the U.S. supports Egypt's continued efforts to restore the cease-fire that brought Operation Pillar of Defense to an end in November 2012. He said the U.S. was working with its partners in the region to secure a cease-fire and would stay in close contact during the next 24 hours.

Obama said Israel has a right to defend itself against rocket attacks, but also lamented the deaths of civilians in Gaza. He stressed the need to protect civilians in Gaza and in Israel and to avoid further escalation.

"There's no country on Earth that can be expected to live under a daily barrage of rockets," Obama said at the White House.

"But over the past two weeks, we've all been heartbroken by the violence, especially the death and injury of so many innocent civilians in Gaza -- men, women and children who were caught in the crossfire. That's why we have been working with our partners in the region to pursue a cease-fire, to protect civilians on both sides.

"Now, yesterday Israel did agree to a cease-fire. Unfortunately, Hamas continued to fire rockets at civilians, thereby prolonging the conflict."

Despite talk of a cease-fire, a senior Israeli military official told the New York Times on Wednesday that the likelihood of an Israel ground operation in Gaza was "very high." The official was quoted as saying that only "boots on the ground" could eliminate terrorism in Gaza. He said his assessment was based on "the signals I get" and that a takeover of Gaza would not be "a huge challenge" for the IDF, estimating it would take only "a matter of days or weeks."

Another senior Israeli official said on Wednesday that, paradoxically, Operation Protective Edge has prevented a collapse of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement and unity government. Nevertheless, the official said, any deal regarding the Rafah Border Crossing would bolster the status of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.

The official said Israel has an interest in seeing Egypt and the Palestinian Authority reach a deal regarding the Rafah crossing. Israel is not expected to oppose keeping the crossing open on a continuous and regular basis. Egypt is insisting that a deal on Rafah be made with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and not Hamas in Gaza.

The official said Hamas has lost trust in Egypt and is now trying to achieve a cease-fire via Turkish and Qatari mediation. Israel, however, opposes Turkish and Qatari involvement.

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו