Cease-Fire Shattered After Israeli Soldier Kidnapped And Forced Into Terror Tunnel

Another cease-fire in the Gaza Strip has been shattered by the militant terror group Hamas after the Israeli military said Friday one of its soldiers is “feared” captured by Gaza militants. The developments came only hours after a three-day cease-fire on the Gaza strip began.

The Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas was patrolling in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said that government forces were moving to destroy a tunnel, as the terms of the cease-fire allowed for, when multiple Hamas militants came out of the ground. The militants included at least one suicide attacker, who after an exchange of gun fire, was used to threatened the IDF as the soldier was dragged back into the tunnel.

“The incident is ongoing, and the IDF is in the midst of operational and intelligence efforts to track down the soldier,” the source told the newspaper.

Gaza officials claimed at least 35 Palestinians were killed, but the Israeli military did not provide further detail.

The cease-fire took effect at 8 a.m. local time and was suppose to last for a duration of 72 hours. “This morning, Hamas fired at our forces in S. Gaza in violation of a ceasefire,” an IDF spokesman said. “We suspect that an IDF soldier was kidnapped moments later.”

Another tweet from the official account of the Israel Defense Forces said that eight rockets and mortars were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. While one was intercepted while the other seven hit “open areas.”

“Once again, Hamas and the terror organizations in Gaza have blatantly broken the cease-fire to which they committed, this time before the American Secretary of State and the U.N. Secretary General,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Immediately after the cease-fire was announced Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned the international community not to celebrate, and that is was meant only to be a stepping stone to a greater agreement.

“This is not a time for congratulations or joy or anything except a serious determination — a focus by everybody to try to figure out the road ahead,” Kerry said in New Delhi, where he had been meeting with Indian officials. “This is a respite. It is a moment of opportunity, not an end.”

During the cease-fire, Kerry said Israel was allowed to continue locating and targeting terror tunnels that are located behind its territorial lines. The Palestinians would be able to receive food, medicine and humanitarian assistance, bury their dead, treat the wounded and travel to their homes. The time also would be used to make repairs to water and energy systems.

“We hope this moment can be grabbed by both parties, but no one can force them to do that,” Kerry said.

The Palestinian delegation is expected to include members of Hamas, which the United States and Israel both classify as a terrorist organization. Legally, they cannot negotiate directly with groups deemed such. The Egyptians will act as the go-between for all parties involved and will coordinate the talks, according to a senior State Department official said.