Fighters infiltrate Israel and attack army patrol, injuring at least 2

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian fighters infiltrated the southern Israeli region of Eshkol near Ein HaShlosha through a tunnel on Saturday and attacked an Israeli army patrol, injuring two soldiers in the ensuing firefight.

The Israeli military said in a statement that militants opened fire with machine guns and an anti-tank missile, “moderately” wounding two soldiers in the patrol.

The military said that they returned fire and killed one of the militants, while the rest re-entered the tunnel and returned to Gaza.

The Israeli military added that they pursued the attackers into Gaza.

The military wing of Hamas said earlier on Saturday morning that it had breached “enemy lines” in the northern Gaza Strip and had engaged Israeli forces.

The al-Qassam Brigades said that they had managed to infiltrate Israeli lines in the area, which has witnessed heavy fighting since the beginning of the Israeli ground invasion late Thursday.

Israeli news site Haaretz, meanwhile, reported that four soldiers were injured in the attack, two “lightly.”

An Israeli army photo shows weapons seized following the raid

Earlier on Saturday, Israeli media reported the sound of explosions and intense clashes in the southern Israeli region of Eshkol.

Israeli Channel 10 warned Israelis not to enter the region, highlighting that the focus of the conflict was in northern Eshkol, near the central Gaza Strip.

Three Israeli soldiers were reported injured in clashes in northern Gaza Saturday morning and transferred to Suruka hospital inside Israel, but it was unclear if the incidents were related.

Palestinian fighters have injured at least 12 Israeli soldiers since the ground invasion began late Thursday.

An Israeli military spokeswoman did not have any information on the incident, but said that a few rockets had hit the region.

Israeli media reported that a rocket struck Eshkol around 11 a.m. on Saturday and caused a fire, while two other rockets fell in Dimona without causing damage.

Since Israel commenced hostilities on the Gaza Strip 12 days ago, 321 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,200 wounded in the Israeli bombardment.