Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz toured the Kerem Shalom area early Monday morning, along with Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Tal Russo and Gaza Brigade Commander Brig. Gen. Yossi Bachar.
“Even before investigations of the attack are complete, I estimate we prevented a large-scale disaster, an extremely complex attack by terrorists operating between Sinai and the Gaza Strip,” said Lt. Gen. Gantz.
On Sunday night, Global Jihad terrorists and Egyptian soldiers exchange fire near Rafah: Terrorists in the Sinai region captured an Egyptian military post new Rafah, killed over ten Egyptian soldiers and took over two armored personnel carriers (APC).
“This was an extremely successful joint operation of the IAF and Armored Corps,” said Lt. Gen. Gantz. He added, “The speed of the cooperation between the various forces enabled us to thwart a terror attack within 15 minutes, according to the searches. I would like to express my appreciation for the alertness of the forces, specifically the alertness of the intelligence, and the determination of the soldiers operating in the field.”
Maj. Gen. Tal Russo said that “the soldiers operated at every spot through which the vehicle attempted to enter. There were many clashes till the vehicle was destroyed, while it was tracked and surrounded by IAF and Armored Corps forces along with regional infantry soldiers. The vehicle was destroyed from attacks both in the air and on ground. The terrorists who attempted to fire at the soldiers even after the vehicle was destroyed were targeted as well. The operation featured great cooperation between the forces.”
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai said on Sunday night that the IDF Intelligence Branch and the Israel Security Agency (the Shin Bet) had obtained concrete intelligence prior to last night’s terror attack. He added that this information had enabled the IDF to prevent the Global Jihad terrorists from infiltrating from Egypt into Israel.
“This is an extremely serious incident,” emphasized Mordechai, adding that the IDF “is in contact with the Egyptians and we will study this event, which is a product of the terror infrastructure in Sinai.”
“We were prepared for this attack, and we relied on an intelligence warning from the Intelligence Branch and the Israel Security Agency,” he continued. “We tracked this attempted attack, and fortunately there are no injuries among IDF forces or residents of the area.”