IDF tank fire killed five armed Hamas terrorists along the Israel’s security fence on the southern border in the vicinity of Beit Lahiya late Saturday night. Three squads were attempting to penetrate Israel through a tunnel were spotted and eliminated. According to 0404, the five were killed from a combination of both tank fire and helicopter fire reports 0404.

Other sources are reporting that there was a total of 13 Hamas Terrorists who were part of a ‘kidnapping squad’. The eight terrorists who survived the strike reportedly retreated back into the strip through the tunnels.

The incident came several hours following the launch of three rockets that were fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.

“A short while ago, IDF troops spotted armed suspects near the security fence around the northern Gaza Strip. An IDF attack helicopter and a tank fired at them,” the IDF said in a statement.

This development comes exactly one week following another attack in Gaza whereby four Hamas terrorists were killed, also on the Gaza border by the IDF’s Golani Brigade soldiers.

Following the incident, the IDF shot flares into the air to better illuminate the area. The IDF also confirmed that there have been no Israeli casualties reported as a result of the defensive measure.

Unconfirmed Arab reports claim that the terrorists were on the Gaza side of the security fence when they were killed and that Israel collected their bodies.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, stated that Israel launched artillery strikes on its positions next to Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, near where the terrorists approached the border to infiltrate Israel.

This latest clash came following an uptick in attacks from the Hamas side of the border fence targeting the Israeli side.

Last month, Breaking Israel News reported that a Hamas terrorist was killed after trying to plant a bomb on the border fence.