Troops from the Golani Brigade, operating in the Gaza Strip this week, arrested a 15-year-old Palestinian boy who had planned to perpetrate a suicide attack against nearby Israeli forces, it was released for publication on Thursday. The boy was apprehended Tuesday night during an operation near Beit Hanun after he had suspiciously approached the troops. He was later found to be carrying two large explosive devices on his body. The military force had received intelligence of a possible attack and had taken the necessary precautions to capture the youth without setting off the bombs. Details on how soldiers persuaded the bomber to surrender weren't made available. Publication of the incident was prohibited until the operation ended on Thursday. The incident, officials said, demonstrated the growing use of children by Gaza-based terror groups. On Wednesday, two Palestinian youth were killed in an IDF strike on a number of Kassam launchers after they had been set there to collect them.
Also Thursday, two Kassam rockets were fired into the western Negev. One landed in an open field and the other struck an empty home in Sderot causing one woman light injuries and sending another woman into shock.