Dog then in the hands of Hamas

The Israeli military on Thursday denied allegations that one of its dogs attacked an elderly woman in Gaza. Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera published menacing photos showing the dog aggressively attacking the apparently frightened Jabaliya resident.

The military said one of its dogs was kidnapped by terrorists during the fighting in Gaza and was in their custody at the time of the alleged attack. He was later found dead and his body was booby-trapped to blow up soldiers who tried to rescue him.

A paratrooper division sent the attack dog and its handler into a building where they were believed to be hiding in search of terrorists. The dog did not return and no sounds of fighting or explosions were heard, the military told Ynet. The troops set out to inspect the building remotely using drones. At first the dog was nowhere to be found, but later it was seen lying stretched out on the street.

The team managed to identify explosive residue from the dog’s body. The explosive was removed from the dog and he was taken to the dog cemetery of the dog squad – Oketz base for burial.