Israel Strikes Kill Top Gaza Militant, Triggering Rocket Barrage
Gaza City: Israel struck Gaza with airstrikes on Friday, killing more than 15 people, including a leading militant, and triggering a wave of retaliatory rocket fire from the territory.
Israel said it launched a pre-emptive strike against Islamic Jihad, killing the top commander of the Palestinian militant group it blames for a series of recent attacks in Israel.
Islamic Jihad said the Israeli bombardment amounted to a “declaration of war”, hours before it launched what it said was an “initial response” to more than 100 rockets aimed at Israel.
No casualties were immediately reported in Israel, as officials in the country’s commercial capital Tel Aviv said they were opening air raid shelters in the city.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is administered by the Islamist movement Hamas, a child was among the dead. Since taking control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas has fought four wars with Israel, most recently in May of last year. Islamic Jihad is a separate group but linked to Hamas.
Israeli strikes continued late Friday, targeting what the military described as militant targets throughout the area it has blocked since Hamas took over.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the attacks were a “precision counter-terrorist operation against an imminent threat”.
- a five-year-old girl –
A building in Gaza City burns after the first round of strikes as medics evacuate wounded Palestinians. Gaza’s health ministry announced that “a five-year-old girl targeted by the Israeli occupation” was among the nine killed. Another 55 Palestinians were wounded, the ministry said.
Five-year-old Alaa Kaddum had a pink bow in her hair and a gash on her forehead as her father carried her body to her funeral.
Islamic Jihad said several members of its military wing were among the dead, including “the renowned fighter Taysir al-Jabari ‘Abu Mahmoud,’ commander of the Al-Quds Brigade in the northern Gaza Strip region.”
Hundreds of mourners gathered in Gaza City for the funerals of Jabari and others killed in the airstrikes.
Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht said “we estimate that about 15 people were killed in Gaza,” referring to Palestinian fighters. Israeli tanks lined the border and the army said Thursday it was beefing up its forces.
US Ambassador Tom Nides said Washington “strongly believes that Israel has the right to defend itself”.
“We are in contact with various parties and urge all parties to remain calm,” he tweeted.
The UN envoy for Middle East peace, Tor Wennesland, said he was “deeply concerned” and warned the development was “very dangerous”.
- “Pay the Price” –
The strikes came four days after Israel closed two border crossings into Gaza and restricted the movement of Israeli citizens living near the border, citing security concerns. The moves follow the arrest of two senior members of Islamic Jihad, which has a strong presence in Gaza, in the occupied West Bank. The militant group did not launch any attacks on Israeli territory after the arrest.
Gaza City resident Abdullah al-Arayshi said the situation was “very serious”. “The country is broken, we have had enough of wars. Our generation has lost its future,” he told AFP.
Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, said Israel had committed “a new crime for which it must pay.”
“The resistance of all arms and military factions is united in this struggle and will speak loudly… All fronts must be opened to the enemy,” the statement said.
Lapid, who met with his security chiefs during the day, said: “Anyone who tries to harm Israel must be known – we will find you.”
Islamic Jihad is blacklisted by the European Union and the United States of America as a terrorist organization. The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel’s military action was a “dangerous development” and called on the international community to stop Israel’s “aggression”.
The Israeli military banned large gatherings in communities within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the Gaza border until Saturday evening.
The move follows four days of road closures and other restrictions in the border area.
Palestinians, including patients and those with Israeli work permits, have been prevented from leaving the Gaza Strip since Tuesday, and the passage of goods has also been closed.
Gaza’s only power plant is at risk of imminent loss due to a lack of fuel supplies from Israel, its manager warned on Thursday.
This week’s closure of the border area followed an attack by security forces in the northern West Bank district of Jenin.
