IDF D9 bulldozer drives over 2 explosives on Gaza border

No injuries or damage incurred by violent blasts; IDF seeing marked increase in explosives along Gaza border.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
IDF bulldozer 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF bulldozer 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
An IDF D9 armored bulldozer drove over two explosives planted along the border between northern Gaza and Israel on Monday, setting off both bombs.
There were no injuries in the incident, and the vehicle, designed to withstand powerful blasts, was left undamaged.
The bulldozer was carrying out routine clearance work to keep the border region sterile, a senior army source said, and continued on its mission after the explosion.
The bombs were set off by the weight of the vehicle, and were not activated by remote control.
The source added that the incident represented an unusual upsurge in border attacks. It came three days after a remote-controlled explosive was detonated by Gaza terrorists in the vicinity of soldiers carrying out routine missions along the border.
“We know that terrorist elements are exploiting the area near the fence to plant explosives,” the IDF source said, adding that “this is not an ordinary attack.”
The IDF has not yet named the factions behind the bomb attacks on Sunday and Thursday.
In recent days, the IDF deployed an Iron Dome rocket defense battery in Ashkelon as part of precautionary measures ahead of what was then believed to be an imminent US strike in Syria.
A senior IDF source said last week that he did not believe Gaza-based terrorist organizations had made a decision to launch rockets on Israel in response to a US strike.
At the same time, the source said, the IDF is monitoring developments in the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula.