A Hamas terrorist used a group of children on Wednesday evening to lure IDF soldiers into range, succeeding in shooting an officer. According to initial investigations, soldiers from the Givati Brigade were called to respond to a riot by 20 children approximately 400 yards from the security fence. A sniper opened fire, hitting one soldier.

The 21-year-old officer was originally thought to be seriously wounded, but doctors later revealed that he was in moderate-but-stable condition.

The IDF said that the sniper attack was staged by a group of terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip defined as rogue groups, who do not acknowledge the ceasefire declared by Hamas on Saturday night. As the ruling power in Gaza, the IDF holds Hamas responsible for any hostilities.

Red alert sirens sounded in communities along the southern border about one hour after the shooting in what was later determined to be a false alarm.

IDF tanks responded by shelling seven Hamas military targets. Three terrorists from Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade, were killed and a fourth was critically injured.

This marks the second time an IDF soldier has been shot on the Gaza border in one week. IDF Staff Sgt. Aviv Levi was killed by a Hamas sniper on Friday afternoon on the Gaza border. Both soldiers were wearing ceramic bullet proof vest but it is believed that Iran provided Hamas with special rifles and ammunition designed to penetrate these vests.

Attacks by incendiary kites and balloons continue to be launched from Gaza which are exacerbated by the extreme dryness and heat of the summer season. This resulted in fires being lit in Netiv Ha’asara, Moshav Mavkiim and Kibbutz Karmia.

A Palestinian sniper in Gaza fired at IDF troops under the cover of 20 children that were sent towards the border fence as decoy. This is the second sniper attack against the IDF in a week. IDF retaliated against Hamas positions.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 25, 2018