An Israeli soldier helping to transfer humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip was wounded by a Hamas mortar round fired at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Tuesday.
The latest attack demonstrates the Palestinian terrorist group’s determination to attack and kill Israelis even at the risk of harming humanitarian aid convoys aimed at helping ordinary residents of Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tweeted: “Just after Israel re-opened the Erez Crossing from Israel into Gaza to allow the entry of civilian aid, a mortar shell was fired at the crossing from Gaza, lightly injuring an IDF soldier. Hamas prioritizes attacks on Israel over humanitarian aid for Gazans.”
The Times of Israel reported:
The Israel Defense Forces says the person injured in the mortar attack was an IDF soldier assisting in the transfer of humanitarian aid shipments into the Gaza Strip through the Erez Crossing.
The soldier sustained light injuries and has been taken to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center for further care, medics say.
Earlier today, Israel temporarily reopened both the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings into Gaza, allowing many truckloads of fuel, medical equipment and animal feed into the enclave, according to Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians.
Mortar rounds also killed two Thai workers in southern Israel, who did not manage to find shelter during a Hamas attack.
Israel had opened the Kerem Shalom crossing, which had been closed since Hamas launched rocket attacks last Money, for the delivery of humanitarian aid. The IDF noted that Hamas puts civilians in danger as a military strategy:
U.S. President Joe Biden has said that the U.S. supports a ceasefire but has thus far postponed a United Nations Security Council resolution.
The UN Security Council is meeting Tuesday in closed session. The UN General Assembly, which is notoriously anti-Israel, has scheduled a meeting Thursday to debate the ongoing conflict. Israel has vowed to continue its fight until it has achieved “quiet.”