The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the launch of new attacks against Islamic Jihad terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.
As reported by an IDF spokesman, the commander of the Islamic Jihad rocket force, Ali Ghali, was shot down product of the bombings.
The Israeli army claimed that Ghali was hiding in an apartment and that two other members of the group died along with him in the bombing of a residential complex in Jan Younis.
The maneuvers take place just hours after Palestinian terrorists from Gaza will launch more than 270 rockets on different cities in Israel, leaving at least five civilians injured. Of these 270 projectiles, 62 were intercepted by the Iron Dome, three fell in populated areas and 205 entered the territory.
This attack arose in response to the assassination of three Islamic Jihad leaders – Jalil Bahitini, Tareq Az Aldin and Jahed Ahnam – which, in turn, came a week after a short escalation of violence in the areawhich included the firing of more than 100 rockets from Gaza behind the death of a senior YIP member after 86 days on hunger strike in an israeli jail.
The Chamber of Joint Military Operations, which brings together the Palestinian armed factions in Gaza -among them the YIP and the Islamist movement Hamas-, had warned that Israel “will pay the price of its aggression”, something that, hours later, was seen reflected in his offense.
“The attacks of the unified resistance are part of the response process to the massacre committed by the Zionist occupation and are part of its defense of our Palestinian people. The resistance’s response is obligatory and constant against any aggression,” added Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Abd al-Latif al-Qanou.
In the midst of these incidents, this Wednesday, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuwarned that the exchange of fire “is not over yet”. “We have struck Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza the hardest blow in its history. In a matter of seconds – two seconds – in the middle of the night, we eliminated at the same time, in three separate places at the same time, the high command of the terrorist organization”celebrated the president.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that although “we are prepared for the military campaign to end soon, we are prepared for it to continue,” in a clear sign that they will not give in to the offensives.
The current situation is similar to the hostilities of August 2022 between the Israeli Army and Islamic Jihad, also after the assassination by Israel of senior members of the group and which lasted for three days of intense fighting. That escalation left a balance of about 50 Palestinians dead in Gaza and none in Israel.
Along with these clashes, the authorities of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations are holding talks with those who aspire to reach negotiations for a truce, something that has not been possible up to now, even though talks have already taken place between the parties involved for a Stop the fire.
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