Soldiers wounded in Gaza blast

Two human bombers in a jeep have blown up as they tried to ram a bus carrying some 40 Israeli workers near the Rafah border, wounding one occupation Israeli soldier.

The Israeli army was attacked near the Rafah border

“A white jeep with two people aboard tried to ram the bus transporting some 40 employees to the (Rafah) terminal and blew up. The jeep was totally wrecked,” Anat Moore, a spokeswoman for the Israeli ports and airports administration told reporters on Friday. 

“The employees of the administration are unharmed,” she added. “An officer in the escorting military vehicle was slightly hurt.” Israeli military sources also confirmed one soldier wounded and the two attackers killed. 

Moore said that before the blast the front seat passenger in the jeep had leaned out of the window and fired at the bus but caused no casualties. 

“Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the attack in which they used an explosive device weighing 40 kg”, said Aljazeera correspondent in Palestine Hiba Akila.

Traffic had resumed on Wednesday through the Rafah terminal, the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. 

The terminal, which is manned by Israelis on the Palestinian side, had been virtually closed since Israeli occupation forces launched a massive raid into Rafah on 18 May, killing 43 Palestinians and demolishing dozens of homes. 

The raid was aimed at eliminating resistance fighters and destroying tunnels allegedly used to smuggle weapons across from Egypt.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies