JERUSALEM (AA)
Israeli army has launched a probe into footage of an alleged infiltration attempt by Hamas fighters into an Israeli military site near the Gaza Strip border.
Army spokesman Moti Almoz told Israeli Channel 10 on Wednesday that the army was investigating the video which purportedly shows Hamas fighters emerging from a tunnel and killing Israeli soldiers.
A video was aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV on Tuesday, in which fighters are seen emerging from a tunnel near the Nahel Oz military site on Monday and opening fire onIsraeli soldiers.
The footage also shows three Hamas members attempting to abduct an Israeli soldier before killing him and seizing an Israeli weapon.
In a statement, the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, said that 10 Israeli soldiers had been killed in the attack.
Violence has engulfed the Palestinian territories sinceIsrael launched a devastating military onslaught on the Gaza Strip on July 7 with the stated aim of halting rocket fire.
At least 1258 Palestinians – mostly civilians – have been killed and more than 7000 others injured in relentlessIsraeli attacks on the blockaded territory.
At least 56 Israelis – 53 soldiers and three civilians – have been killed since the hostilities began.
Israel's military operation, dubbed operation "Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populate Gaza Strip – which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.
In 2008/9, over 1500 Palestinians were killed in Israel's three-week-long operation "Cast Lead."
www.aa.com.tr/en
