BICOM

A Palestinian man who infiltrated Israel from Gaza was arrested yesterday after a huge manhunt.

The suspect crossed the border fence on Tuesday afternoon, but was not caught until Wednesday morning on a moshav in the area of Netivot, after advancing 15 kilometres inside of Israel.

UAVs and ground patrols began to attempt to locate him, with the operation to locate him by Security Forces lasting an entire day. Once arrested, the man was taken in for questioning on why he crossed without a permit.

While it is not uncommon for residents of the Gaza Strip to attempt to sneak into Israel, the amount of time it took for security forces to locate the man is unusual. The Gaza Division of the IDF will now investigate how he managed to penetrate so deeply into Israel.

Members of the communities within the region where the infiltration occurred had to stay within their homes and be alert while the manhunt took place.

On the same day, Israel’s Defence Ministry announced that it had intercepted an attempt to smuggle commando knives into Gaza. The foot-long military-issue knives were found hidden in a shipment of tools crossing into the strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Another shipment bound for the Gaza Electric Company was found to contain hidden graphite strips, used in the manufacture of missile fuel.

The Kerem Shalom checkpoint has intercepted other dual-use contraband in recent months, including drones, laser sights for guns, satellite phones, weapons components and underwater electronics used by naval commandos.