Four Israeli soldiers were wounded Friday, January 7 at night, by firing automatic weapons and mortar shells at Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Channel 10 TV said two soldiers hit were transferred to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva (Southern Israel) aboard a helicopter, while two others were treated on the spot.The station broadcast images of the evacuation. Two soldiers are in a state called "serious", while two others were slightly more affected. A spokesman for the army confirmed that four soldiers had been wounded but declined to give further details. The incident - in which soldiers have exchanged gunfire with Palestinians - occurred near the kibbutz (collectivist village) Beeri, located near the Gaza Strip, reports said.
An Israeli unit spotted several Palestinians who were approaching the security fence separating Gaza from Israel, apparently in order to conceal a bomb. The soldiers then opened fire on Palestinians who responded said on television. In Gaza, witnesses confirmed the exchange of fire that took place between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters armed to the east of the town of Khan Younis (central area).
The firefight lasted twenty minutes, said the witnesses who reported a possible injury on the Palestinian side. The Israeli army fired tank shells and rockets during the incident, according to these witnesses, the latter has not made a victim. The television channel also said that following the shootout, important military reinforcements, backed by tanks and air force were deployed along the security fence.
This is the most serious incident in the Israeli army since the death of two soldiers March 26, 2010 in the same area in an atmosphere of increasing tension on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians have multiplied in recent days firing rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel.
The army responded with a series of air strikes against the territory controlled since 2007 by the Islamist movement Hamas. The Israeli army had launched two years ago a devastating operation, dubbed "Lead Cast in the Gaza Strip, with the stated goal of stopping rocket fire, mortar shells or small arms fire automatic management of its territory.
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