Pinpointed intelligence allows Israeli troops to stage well-coordinated response when terrorists breach Egyptian border • The commander of the Bedouin battalion puts his life on the line by buffering between terrorist-controlled armored personnel carrier and civilians • Hot pursuit lasted only 15 minutes, with no Israeli casualties.
Lilach Shoval, Shlomo Cesana and Daniel Siryoti
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak beside a charred armored vehicle used in the failed terrorist attack on Sunday.
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Pinpointed intelligence, proper deployment and the rapid response by Israeli fighters and their commanders on the ground all made it possible to thwart the sophisticated attack on Sunday night near the Egyptian border in just 15 minutes, with zero Israeli casualties.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak toured the site of the attack on Monday and received a briefing from GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Tal Russo and Israel Security Agency chief Yoram Cohen.
Netanyahu also met with the troops that pursued the terrorists and praised the Israel Defense Forces and the ISA for their actions.
On Sunday, jihadist terrorists wrested control over an Egyptian checkpoint, killing 16 policemen and leaving at least seven wounded. They proceeded to commandeer two Egyptian vehicles with which they charged toward the border crossing with Israel. One vehicle exploded at the border crossing, making way for the other to enter Israeli territory. The second vehicle was destroyed by an air force missile, and the terrorists were killed, averting what could have been a major attack and a kidnapping operation.
"You prepared well and you did the right thing," Netanyahu praised the soldiers. "I would like to express my sorrow for the deaths of the Egyptian troops. It is clear now that Israel and Egypt share the same interest — to preserve calm along our shared border. But time and time again we see that when it comes to the security of the citizens of Israel, the State of Israel can only count on itself. There is no one who can protect Israelis other than the IDF and Israel's security agencies. We will continue to do as we have done."
Barak also praised the fighters involved in thwarting the attack, telling them that if the terrorists had managed to infiltrate an Israeli community or military base "they could have inflicted substantial damage."
"I assume this will not be the last time we are faced with terrorism directed at us. I hope that this incident will serve as a wake-up call for the Egyptians, prompting them to be more vigilant and effective on their side," Barak said.
Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz convened a post-incident review with Russo and Gaza Division Commander Brig. Gen. Yossi Bachar. After talking to the soldiers involved in Sunday's pursuit, Gantz said "I have the impression that a major calamity was averted thanks to a very good joint effort by the entire intelligence apparatus, the air force, the ground forces, the armored forces, the infantry and the ISA."
The debriefing revealed that about 20 minutes prior to the incident, the IDF lookout recorded some unusual activity just west of the border at an Egyptian post, suggesting an attack was imminent. Shortly afterward, dozens of terrorists surprised Egyptian police officers who had just gathered to break the Ramadan fast (during the holy month of Ramadan Muslims refrain from food consumption from sunrise to sunset), after which they headed for the border in a commandeered armored vehicle.
A separate group of terrorists rammed a truck on the border and exploded, with no one hurt aside from the terrorists. The truck contained about 500 kg (1102 lbs) of explosives, which made the task of identifying them that much harder due to the sheer destruction the detonation caused. It is also unclear whether there was more than one terrorist on that truck. Army officials are still not sure whether the explosion at the site was pre-planned or whether it was a result the truck's swerving and the intense pressure the explosives had to sustain.
At this point, the armored vehicle — taking advantage of the breach the explosion had created in the fence — turned southward and drove along the road leading to Eilat, but came under fire from the Bedouin Desert Reconnaissance Battalion that had dispatched forces to the scene. The armored vehicle retreated and attempted to drive along the road that runs adjacent to the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, but after about 50 meters (164 feet) it was intercepted by and IDF contingent. The APC continued moving, despite being incessantly fired at by the IDF, prompting the commander of the Bedouin battalion to cut in front of it so as to serve as a buffer for other civilian vehicles on the road.
In a pincer move, the Israel Air Force aircraft that had been scrambled to the area closed in on the terrorists from the direction of Kerem Shalom with help of the 52nd armored corps battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Udi Tzur, while platoon commander Capt. Natti Lasri blocked his potential escape route to the Gaza Strip. The terrorists continued for about two km (1.23 miles) into Israeli territory, firing in all directions, until Russo gave the green light to fire at the vehicle. The IAF bombed the vehicle but failed to destroy it, forcing tanks to fire two shells that set it on fire. "In every direction, the vehicle encountered IDF forces," Russo said "Armored units, the air force and the regional infantry units all closed in on it and eventually destroyed it from the air and from the ground."
During the pursuit, large IDF forces advanced toward the terrorists. Col. Tal Hermoni, the commander of the regional brigade, and Wahid al-Huzayl, the commander of the Bedouin battalion, narrowly escaped being hit. Several terrorists were killed when the vehicle was destroyed, but two managed to escape and run toward a nearby grove. Ultimately, they too were killed by the IDF.
IDF sources explained that the troops wanted to create a ring-of-fire around the terrorists to frustrate their plans to target Israelis and to prevent a kidnapping attempt. Eight terrorists were killed in the operation. Most of them had been wearing explosives belts. Israel handed over six of the bodies to Egypt on Monday, as well as the destroyed armored vehicle.
The heightened alert that was announced following a ISA intelligence warning may have been crucial to the IDF's success on Sunday night. Last week, the ISA had relayed intelligence indicating that a terrorist attack from Sinai was imminent. IDF forces were once again informed of the impending attack on Friday. The warning did not specify the terrorists' eventual modus operandi — attacking Egyptian forces and taking over their armored vehicles — but it proved accurate in terms of timing and venue. IDF sources believe the terrorists postponed the attack because of the heightened state of alert in the area. The perpetrators' identity is still unknown.
One top official said Monday that the attack was carried out by global jihad groups that had received help from Bedouin tribes based in Sinai. The official also said a possible link to the Gaza Strip was also being explored.
So far, most Israeli officials have only revealed that the organization behind the attack, as well as other organizations in the Sinai, subscribe to what they call "an Islamist world view."
Israeli officials said that Sunday's attack was similar to the attack carried last August just north of Eilat, in which a group of terrorists from Sinai killed eight Israelis in a multi-pronged cross-border raid. Military Intelligence officials believe that Sunday's attackers planned to kill Israelis by infiltrating an Israeli community and that they viewed the dead Egyptian troops as collateral damage.
Egyptian army helicopters, with the help of army rangers, launched a manhunt immediately after the attacks in the hope of apprehending some of the perpetrators who fled the scene, an Egyptian security source reported Monday. The attack was the deadliest such event Egypt's tense Sinai border region has seen in decades.
The Egyptian source, speaking to Ahram Online, said that early on Monday army units surrounded the city of Rafah, on the Egyptian side of the Egypt-Gaza Strip border, to prevent suspects from escaping.
Egyptian and Israeli officials have been warning of a deteriorating security situation in Sinai, where militants have taken advantage of a security vacuum in the area following the uprising that toppled former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak last year. Last August's attacks was one of the deadliest attacks in that area in decades, and has caused relations between the two countries to deteriorate.
Since Mubarak stepped down, Israel has allowed Egypt to increase its troop presence in the Sinai even beyond the symbolic contingent allowed under the 1979 treaty and the subsequent addendum signed in 2005. Sunday's attack spurred renewed calls in Egypt to amend the treaty to allow for more troops in Sinai.
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