Amid a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel, and despite Hamas’ Nov. 2 announcement that efforts to break the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip had yielded results, a strange security incident shook up the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip the evening of Nov. 11.
Palestinian gunmen fought seven Israeli soldiers who had infiltrated the Gaza Strip in a car. The clash resulted in the death of seven Hamas fighters, including Nour Baraka, the commander of the Khan Yunis branch of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas’ military wing), and a senior Israeli officer. The real mission of the Israeli infiltrating force is unknown, but many speculations emerged.
Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot said Nov. 12 that a special Israeli force had carried out an operation of great importance to Israel's security. However, al-Qassam Brigades announced the same day that it had foiled an Israeli plan aimed at striking Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
As a result, the situation escalated militarily between Palestinians and Israel. Between Nov. 12-13, more than 460 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israeli settlements in the Gaza envelope, killing an Israeli and injuring 55 others. The Israeli Air Force fired missiles at 160 targets in Gaza, killing seven Palestinians and injuring dozens.
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