IDF thwarts Pesach terror attack

For the first time since disengagement, IDF troops entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday in search of explosives devices they feared had been planted along the security fence.

An IDF engineering entered Gaza near the Kissufim Crossing after on Tuesday night, just as most of the country was sitting down for their Pesach Seder, two terrorists armed with grenades and automatic rifles tried infiltrating into Israel nearby. Led by Col. Moni Katz - commander of Northern Gaza Brigade - the troops entered 50 meters into Gaza and after several hours left after verifying that no bombs had been planted along the fence.

A source in the Southern Command said that Prime Minister-elect Ehud Olmert's decision to cut of ties with the Palestinian Authority and as a result coordination with PA security forces, led to the decision to enter Gaza.

"We cannot coordinate with the PA security forces as we did in the past to search for bombs," one officer explained. "So now we have no choice but to go in and search for ourselves."

But while IDF troops have already begun training in the Golan Heights for a possible future extensive incursion into Gaza, the officer stressed that Thursday's raid was purely defensive and not offensive. "When there is danger to our troops we will take action," the officer declared.