Gaza sniper fires on vehicles at southern junction

Snipers from Gaza opened fire on Israeli civilian vehicles at the Yad Mordechai junction in the South on Monday evening.

Bullets shattered the back windscreen of one vehicle, leaving broken glass on the empty car seat of a seven-month- old baby. A building also sustained damage in the attack. The IDF said 10 bullets were fired at the car in total.

The IDF declared an elevated state of alert near Gaza border communities after the shooting. Following a scan of the area by security forces, the IDF returned the state of alert to normal.

On its Facebook page, the IDF Spokesman’s Office posted a message under the title, “Firing on babies, Hamas’s true face.” Displaying a description and photo of the shooting, the message read: “Imagine this picture if God forbid the shooting had taken place a few minutes earlier, when the infant was sitting in the seat. The IDF will not allow the harming of innocent babies and the citizens of Israel.”

Officers from the Sderot police station also visited the shooting scene.

Most Palestinian terror attacks from Gaza take the form of rockets, shell fire or attempts to cross the border, though snipers have in the past targeted Israeli farmers working their lands.

Terrorists in Gaza murdered a 16-year-old Israeli in April 2011 by firing a shoulder-held anti-tank missile at a yellow school bus on the Israeli side of the border. Soldiers in the area returned fire in the direction of the shooter.

The IDF said that it would not hesitate to act with determination against any elements that use terrorism against the residents of Israel, and said that it holds Hamas responsible for the attack.

Subsequent to the sniper fire attack, terrorists fired a Kassam rocket from Gaza into the Ashkelon Regional Council area on Monday, Israel Radio reported. There were no injuries or damage reported.