Amid a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel, and despite Hamas’ Nov. 2 announcement that efforts to break the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip had yielded results, a strange security incident shook up the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip the evening of Nov. 11.
Palestinian gunmen fought seven Israeli soldiers who had infiltrated the Gaza Strip in a car. The clash resulted in the death of seven Hamas fighters, including Nour Baraka, the commander of the Khan Yunis branch of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas’ military wing), and a senior Israeli officer. The real mission of the Israeli infiltrating force is unknown, but many speculations emerged.