Israeli airstrikes on crowded Gaza refugee camps have killed a senior leader of an Islamic Jihad terrorist group, officials said Sunday.
Commander Khaled Mansour was killed late Saturday in an air strike on an apartment building in Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza, Israeli officials said.
Mansour's death marked his second targeted attack in Israel since it launched a military strike against an Iran-backed militant group on Friday.
The Islamic Jihad commander in southern Gaza was in a group member's apartment when the missile struck, causing a three-story building to collapse and causing extensive damage to nearby homes.
The attack also killed two of his other militants and five of his civilians, bringing his Palestinian death toll to 31 since the attack began. Among the dead were six children and his four women.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said more than 250 people had been injured since Friday.
Israeli officials said some of the deaths were caused by errant rocket fire, including one incident in Jebariya refugee camp in northern Gaza where six Palestinians were killed on Saturday.
Two men were killed Sunday when a projectile hit a house in the same area of Jebaliyah. Palestinians held Israel responsible, but Israel said it was investigating whether the area had been hit by a false rocket. As the funeral began, the Israeli military said it suspected it had hit an "Islamic Jihad rocket launch pad."
Israel said it had taken action against militant groups because of concrete threats of imminent attack.
Interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid said: , faces a difficult re-election this fall. The vote he will take place on November 1st.
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