A Palestinian citizen of Israel crossed the borderline between Israel and the besieged Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the Israeli army said.
An Israeli army spokesperson said that an Israeli citizen, who she said was a Bedouin, crossed over into the Gaza Strip from the Negev region.
The Israeli 0404 website reported that the Israeli military mobilized its forces and opened investigation in order to verify the news. The Israeli military’s spokesman stated that combing operations are being conducted via choppers searching for the Bedouin who crossed the border.
IDF observers say that they saw the man quickly climb over the fence before calling soldiers from Givati infantry brigade, which is responsible for the area in which the incident occurred, to make their way to the scene near HaBesor Stream. On the other side of the fence is the Palestinian city of Khan Yunis which is also guarded by Hamas security personnel, according to Israeli media.
This is not the first incident of its kind.
She added that the incident was being reviewed.
In April 2015, a Bedouin man with Israeli citizenship went missing and is believed to have been held in the Gaza Strip ever since.
Hisham al-Sayed, who his family has said suffers from mental illness, had run away twice before to the Gaza Strip and been handed over by Hamas officials both times.
Another Israeli civilian, Avera Mengistu, has been missing after reportedly crossing into the Gaza Strip on his own accord in September 2014.
Despite statements and reports indicating otherwise, the official Israeli position is that the two Israeli civilians are being held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas.
