(Communicated by the IDF, ISA and Israel Police)

On Friday, January 29, 2010 a number of Palestinian terrorist organizations claimed responsibility for a maritime terrorist attack following the detonation of two sea-born explosive devices at a distance of approximately two kilometers off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

On Monday morning, February 1, 2010, Israeli civilians reported seeing a suspicious unidentified object lying on the Barnea beach, a public beach in the coastal city of Ashkelon. Israeli Police sappers examined the object which they found to be an explosive device. A similar object was later located at one of the beaches in Ashdod, another Israeli city located farther north on the Israeli Mediterranean coast. The device was detonated in a controlled manner by the Israeli Police.

The terrorist organizations which took responsibility for the attack on Friday are the Fatah military wing, known as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees military wing, known as the Saladin Brigades, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad military wing, known as the Al-Quds Brigades.

IDF Spokesman (Feb 3):

Overnight, in a joint IDF-ISA activity, the IAF has attacked two terrorist targets in the southern Gaza Strip used by Hamas. One is a terror tunnel, used for the infiltration of terrorists into Israel, while the other is used for the smuggling of weapons. Direct hits were identified.

The strike was executed in response to the recent attempted naval attacks against Israel, and the recent rocket firing towards Israel. These rockets add to the 19 rockets already fired at Israel in the previous month.

The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for maintaining the calm in the communities of southern Israel and will respond to any attempt to disrupt this calm.

A third explosive barrel was found on Wednesday afternoon at Palmachim beach south of Tel Aviv. Police sappers neutralized the barrel, as security forces evacuated the area and closed down the entire area.