A 14-year-old Israeli boy was killed and two other people were wounded when an anti-tank missile, fired from inside Syria, hit a civilian vehicle belonging to a contractor carrying out routine maintenance work for the Defense Ministry on the border with Syria.
The casualty was Muhammad Karaka, of the lower Galilee village of Arrabe, whose father Fahmi, a contractor, was wounded in the attack.
Karaka had been accompanying his father on his first day off school for the summer vacation.
One of those wounded in the attack was in serious condition, while the other suffered light wounds.
In response to the attack, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) forces fired at military positions in Syria.
“This is not a case of errant fire, but of an intentional attack,” said IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner. “The IDF will continue to watch the northern border and react to developments in the field accordingly.”
The explosion coincided with rising tensions in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), where IDF forces are searching since 12 days for three teenagers kidnapped by Hamas.
Meanwhile, Gaza terrorists have increased their rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, threatening communities throughout the south.
According to the IDF, Israeli officials are examining a range of possible causes for the explosion, including mortar fire and the activation of an explosive device
As civil war rages in Syria, violence from the conflict regularly spills into Israel. Over the past several months, there have been various instances of the escalation of violence from Syria.
In March alone, two Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists attempted to plant an explosive device near the Israel-Syria border in the northern Golan Heights. Later that month, a concealed explosive device was activated against IDF soldiers patrolling the Israel-Lebanon border. Additionally, an explosive device injured four IDF soldiers when it detonated under their patrol jeep near the Israel-Syria border.
“We know that the attack was carried out from an area under the control of Syrian rebels, but we’re not at all sure that this was a Syrian rebel attack,” a source had said shortly after Sunday’s attack.
While the Syrian army has a presence on the Golan, some areas are controlled by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, including al-Qaida-inspired islamist terror groups such as Jabhat Al-Nusra and ISIS.