An explosion hit the convoy of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and the head of the General Intelligence Service, Maj. Gen. Majid Faraj, shortly after the vehicles entered the Gaza Strip through the Beit Hanoun crossing, also known as the Erez crossing, with Israel on March 13.
Mohammed Mansour, the undersecretary of the Ramallah-based Ministry of Interior, said in a statement March 14 to Palestinian national radio that the roadside bomb attack was the result of improvised explosive devices planted by professionals. Seven security guards suffered minor injuries, but Hamdallah was unharmed.