The border between Israel and Egypt. Photo: Yonatan Ilan via Wikimedia Commons.

A 22- year-old Israeli working on the security fence surrounding the Gaza Strip was shot and killed by a sniper firing from within Gaza this afternoon. The worker was fixing damage caused by the recent storm in Israel.

An Israel Air Force helicopter was called in to evacuate him, and he was taken to Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva for treatment. He later died of his wounds. IDF forces have launched searches for the shooter.

The incident is the fourth terrorist attack against Israelis in the past 48 hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu promised a strong response as he addressed the incident from the Southern Israeli town of Sderot.

“This is a very severe incident, and we will not let it go unanswered. Our policy until now has been to act beforehand and to respond in force and this is how we will act regarding this incident as well,” he said.

In June 2012 a worker was killed in a similar attack.