According to sources who spoke to the newspaper, the terrorists tried to use an air-to-air missile to shoot down an Apache helicopter near Nahal Oz, east of Gaza City. An IAF plane preempted the attack and surprised them by firing a missile at the terrorists, as they organized to shoot down the helicopter from the Shuja'iyya neighborhood.
The sources also told Al Quds that the operation would have been carried out had it not been for the arrival of the Israeli jet to the area, a short time before the launch.
According to the sources quoted in Al Quds, the decision to carry out the operation was made after Israel bombed several civilian residential buildings.
Meanwhile, tensions in the south continue. On Friday, 10,000 people demonstrated at the Gaza Strip border to mark Nakba Day, during which tires were set on fire and stones were thrown at security forces.
During Friday's riots at the border, IDF forces arrested a suspect who crossed the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.
Also last week, Maariv reported that an attempt to smuggle weapon equipment and communications equipment into the Gaza Strip was foiled.