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Rescue workers evacuating an IDF soldier wounded in an ambush at the Gaza border on Thursday. (Alberto Denkberg)
Last update - 22:05 06/03/2008
Soldier killed, three others hurt in attack on IDF jeep near Gaza border
By Amos Harel, Yuval Azoulay, and Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies
Tags: IDF, Sderot, Gaza, Hamas

An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed and another seriously wounded when Palestinian militants blew up an IDF jeep patrolling the Gaza Strip border early Thursday.

The slain soldier was laid to rest Thursday afternoon, Israel Radio reported.

The jeep blew up when it rolled over an explosively formed penetrator next to Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, on the Israeli side of the border. The explosives were apparently activated from Palestinian territory.
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The slain soldier was sitting in the passenger seat of the jeep at the time of the attack, while the driver was seriously hurt.

Two other soldiers, who were sitting in the backseat of the jeep, sustained minor wounds.

Several other army vehicles, along with an army helicopter, arrived to rescue the wounded, but also came under fire, witnesses said.

The casualties were taken to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva for treatment. Their families have been notified of the attack.

A witness said the jeep appeared to have been destroyed by the explosion at the Kissufim border crossing in central Gaza, and two tanks and an ambulance rushed to the scene.

"I believe the jeep was destroyed, because it was consumed by flames," the witness, a local Palestinian, told Reuters.

The IDF has launched an investigation into the border incident in an effort to determine how the militants were able to place an explosive device in such close proximity to the military patrol route.

The IDF regularly enters Palestinian territory in order to prevent militant cells from placing bombs along the fence or infiltrating Israel.

Since the withdrawal from Gaza in September 2005 the IDF has operated a large-scale and advanced surveillance system within 1.5 kilometers of the Gaza side of the border, in order to identify militants.

Senior IDF officers held an emergency meeting to plan their response to the cross-border strike, officials said following the attack.

A spokesman for Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack and the ruling Hamas group said it also participated.

"A group of fighters planted a bomb under the cover of darkness and waited for the jeep to arrive ... [then] two fighters detonated the explosives," said Abu Ahmed, an Islamic Jihad spokesman.

He said the attack was revenge for an Israel Air Force strike a day earlier that killed one of the group's commanders in southern Gaza.

"We are sending our message to all the Zionist criminals," he said. "Your threats to target the leaders of resistance ... won't scare us. We are going to continue our resistance and holy war, and we will continue to rain rockets on your colonies until we make them ghost towns."

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      1.   Condolences 12:37  |  KUTW 06/03/08
      2.   HEY 12:44  |  Jonas 06/03/08
      3.   Self defence 12:50  |  Stephen Murray 06/03/08
      4.   "STARVING" ?Yet able to smuggle in sophisticated equipment 13:04  |  PETER SM 06/03/08
      5.   Soldiers are legtimate targets 13:05  |  Observor 06/03/08
      6.   Israel should get the woman and children out of Gaza and level 13:15  |  nm 06/03/08
      7.   HAMAS - THEY JUST WILL NOT STOP... 13:18  |  Mary 06/03/08
      8.   treat people the way you want them to treat you 13:22  |  Omar 06/03/08
      9.   Well done 13:27  |  Palestinian 06/03/08
      10.   The Genie is Out 13:39  |  Mark of Lewiston 06/03/08
      11.   Stupid Palestinians 13:53  |  Dave 06/03/08
      12.   Death sentence for Hamas leader handed out 14:10  |  Rights Group 06/03/08
      13.   Justifiable act of self defence 14:11  |  Paul Wood 06/03/08
      14.   To Dave - Who`s stupid? 14:11  |  Camillia 06/03/08
      15.   For Dave # 10 14:12  |  Clickfool 06/03/08
      16.   Take a strong action- reoccupation. 14:15  |  Vital 06/03/08
      17.   Congratulations Palestine, Speak the language they understand. 14:21  |  Black Israel 06/03/08
      18.   Mark of Lewiston, why is it sad? 14:30  |  Ibrahim 06/03/08
      19.   "Observor" of nothing 14:35  |  dan 06/03/08
      20.   How heartless 14:37  |  Angel 06/03/08
      21.   #8 14:39  |  Ken 06/03/08
      22.   # 3 Thats because Hamas never starved 14:48  |  Kris 06/03/08
      23.   `Israeli sources: 20 babies were also killed` 14:48  |  RA 06/03/08
      24.   To Black Israel 14:54  |  Green Palestine 06/03/08
      25.   # 6 I am not so cold-hearted as you are Myriam 14:57  |  Kris 06/03/08
      26.   #14 14:57  |  Dave 06/03/08
      27.   #17, a broken record of lies 15:01  |  DR 06/03/08
      28.   Justified retaliation 15:02  |  ChanahS 06/03/08
      29.   # 7 The problem with that is that Israeli do seldom consider them 15:02  |  Kris 06/03/08
      30.   For Mary # 7 15:02  |  Fortuna Benmayor 06/03/08
      31.   Camilla 15:02  |  Laura 06/03/08
      32.   #24 good luck!!! 15:02  |  DR 06/03/08
      33.   for clickfool 15:12  |  danalogue 06/03/08
      34.   Camilla 15:45  |  Jon 06/03/08
      35.   Palestinians? OR SIMPLY ARABS.....History will tell 16:08  |  Dagma 06/03/08
      36.   to Ibrahim#18 16:11  |  Ilya 06/03/08
      37.   9. Palestinians from AlQuds not real Palestinians 16:12  |  real Palestinian 06/03/08
      38.   TO Jon 16:16  |  Palestinian 06/03/08
      39.   #19 Dan, The IDF soldier should not be a target 16:16  |  Kevin 06/03/08
      40.   to Paul Wood#13 16:17  |  Ilya 06/03/08
      41.   What goes around comes around 16:17  |  Chanalau, Tova 06/03/08
      42.   #33 danalogue 16:26  |  Philo-Semite 06/03/08
      43.   psycho palestinian #9 16:27  |  SHIMON 06/03/08
      44.   OCCUPATION IS EVIL. 16:27  |  Marcos 06/03/08
      45.   Go Hamas 16:27  |  Gil 06/03/08
      46.   Coming Home to Roost 16:30  |  Jmes 06/03/08
      47.   #20 Stop The Insanity 16:33  |  James 06/03/08
      48.   20 BABIES/CHILDREN and over 100 CIVILANS KILLED IN GAZA 16:34  |  TripleJump 06/03/08
      49.   To Camilla & Clickfool (AKA Hypocrites) 16:35  |  Daniel King 06/03/08
      50.   war 16:35  |  keith 06/03/08
      51.   #15 - Clickfool`s racism revealed. Again. 16:38  |  Steve 06/03/08
      52.   Ibrahim 16:39  |  Honest Observation 06/03/08
      53.   To B lack Israel # 17 - Sorry to disappoint you ......... 16:42  |  Dolly 06/03/08
      54.   #17 - You`re American, aren`t you. 16:44  |  Steve 06/03/08
      55.   Kris in Austria 16:50  |  Mary 06/03/08
      56.   1 more Israeli soldier died "in vain"...... 16:50  |  Swiss (Dino) 06/03/08
      57.   How Many? 16:53  |  David 06/03/08
      58.   Practicing for Hizbollah tupe kidnapping? 16:54  |  MARK KLEIN, M.D. 06/03/08
      59.   I`m a survivor of the Zionist Shoah 17:00  |  Palestinian 06/03/08
      60.   This will NEVER happen, but... 17:03  |  Steve 06/03/08
      61.   #15 Clickfraud, you are a sick man!! 17:12  |  Boris 06/03/08
      62.   Brilliant strategy on the part of Hamas and Islamic Jihad 17:21  |  Murray of Montreal 06/03/08
      63.   One Dead IDF 17:23  |  JT 06/03/08
      64.   #32 DR spot on. Clickfool, Lakshmi, Indra etc are complicit 17:27  |  ZISD 06/03/08
      65.   TO NO 1. CONDOLENCES. 17:32  |  DANNY. 06/03/08
      66.   IDF soldier killed is an Israeli-Arab 17:34  |  Rami 06/03/08
      67.   to # 33 17:40  |  palestine 06/03/08
      68.   #21 Ken / Omar 17:42  |  Jon 06/03/08
      69.   TO NO 5. 17:45  |  DANNY. 06/03/08
      70.   Clickfool Camillia & Dave -- All Wrong 17:50  |  Fish 06/03/08
      71.   In the holey name of Jeezus 17:51  |  Charley Bones 06/03/08
      72.