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Dec. 7, 2004
Soldier killed, 4 wounded in explosion near Karni Crossing
Margot Dudkevitch
An IDF soldier was killed and four others wounded early Tuesday when a bomb exploded near them north of the Karni Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. The incident occurred in Sajayieh, several meters away from the Gaza Strip security fence.
The fallen soldier was identified as St. -Sgt. Nadav Kudinsky, 20, from Kiryat Gat. He will be laid to rest Tuesday 3 p. m. in Kiryat Gat.
Kodinsky served in the army’s "Oketz" canine unit. He was killed leading a Golani reconnaissance force searching for hidden weapons and fugitives in a Palestinian chicken coop on the outskirts of the Sajayieh neighborhood approximately one kilometer from the Karni-Netzarim crossing into northern Gaza.
Kodinsky’s dog was also killed in the explosion.
The four wounded soldiers belonged to the Golani reconnaissance Brigade.
Three of the soldiers are hospitalized at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. Two of them are listed as moderately wounded, and one as lightly wounded. The moderately wounded soldiers were wounded in the face and upper body. A lightly wounded soldier was taken to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, where he is receiving treatment for wounds sustained by the force of the blast.
As the troops entered the chicken coop, which was apparently booby-trapped, an explosion rocked the structure.
Immediately after the blast the troops came under heavy gunfire and RPG attack from Palestinians in the area. The soldiers returned fire and a heavy battle ensued.
The army said that the body of a Hamas terrorist was found at the scene.
Army Radio said at least two other Palestinian combatants were killed in the battle.
Israel Radio said at least 5 Palestinian combatants were killed in the battle.
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya’alon said, "Sadly, we lost a fighter and several others were wounded. The force also managed to kill a number of terrorists. We continue to operate, the terrorism has not stopped and we will continue operating against the terrorists."
Forty-five minutes after the explosion at the chicken coop the battle was still raging. An IAF helicopter killed an armed Palestinian who was spotted approaching the area to join the battle against the troops.
Palestinian sources confirmed that two Islamic Jihad military wing (Al-Quds Brigades) were killed in IAF strikes during the battle.
Palestinian Authority security forces did not intervene, Israel Radio reported.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing, foreign news agencies reported. Security forces isolated the area and continue searching for the perpetrators.
Acting on intelligence information, troops began operating in Sajayieh late Monday night looking for weapons and fugitives.
The searches were conducted in an agricultural area, and soldiers searched several chicken coops for suspected weapons caches and fugitives. The searches were conducted on foot and not in armored vehicles so as to prevent harming the structures and hothouses belonging to Palestinian farmers.
The force’s dog was killed.
Shots were fired at an IDF post near Neveh Dekalim in the Gush Katif settlement bloc. There were no casualties. Troops returned fire.
In Naninayim, east of Hebron and Dura, west of Hebron, soldiers together with civil administration officials sealed two charity offices affiliated with the Hamas.
The offices belonged to the Islamic Charity Association, which was outlawed in June 2002 because of its support to the families of suicide bombers and fugitives arrested by Israel.
According to officials, the charity offices channeled funds collected for charity to to the terror infrastructures operation in the Hebron area.
In the West Bank security forces arrested 21 Palestinian fugitives in raids south of Tulkarm, the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, in Kalkilya, Azoun east of Kalkilya, Jerouzoun north of Ramallah, Abu Dis, Tekoa south west of Bethlehem, Hebron and Beit Awa southwest of Hebron.
In Memoriam
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