Israel launched a series of airstrikes in Gaza on Friday killing at least eight of his people, including senior combatants. killed and 40 more wounded, according to Palestinian authorities. Israel said it was targeting Islamic jihadist militant groups in response to an "imminent threat" after the arrest of senior militants in the occupied West Bank earlier this week.
A strike risks igniting yet another war withinterritory. The area is ruled by the Islamic extremist group Hamas and is home to about 2 million Palestinians. The assassination of a senior militant is likely to be met with rockets from Gaza, pushing the region closer to all-out war.
Smoke billowed from his seventh floor of a skyscraper on Friday afternoon. Explosions were heard in Gaza City.
"The Israeli government will not allow terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip to set agendas and threaten the Israeli people in areas bordering the Gaza Strip," Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement. Anyone who wants to harm Israel should know, we will find you."
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said: Eight people, including a five-year-old girl, were killed and at least 44 were injured, it said. Islamic Jihad said Taysel al-Jabari, commander of northern Gaza, was among those killed. He succeeded another fighter who was killed in an airstrike in 2019.
Hundreds gathered outside the morgue at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Some went in to identify their loved ones, only to find themselves in tears. Some shouted, "May God take revenge on the spies," referring to Palestinian informants working with Israel.
A spokesman for the Israeli army said the two anti-armed militant units had " The attack was launched in response to an "imminent threat," he said. A tank missile that was making offensive movements. A spokesman who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity said al-Jabari was deliberately targeted and was responsible for "multiple attacks" against Israel.
The military said it was targeting Islamic Jihad in an operation called "Breaking Dawn." It also announced "special circumstances" in the country, with schools closed and restrictions imposed on other activities in communities within 50 miles of the border.
Occupied Monday Israel closed roads around Gaza earlier this week and sent reinforcements to its border in preparation for a retaliatory strike after the arrest of Islamic Jihad leaders in the West Bank of Jordan. His teenage member of the group died in a shootout between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.
Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several minor skirmishes in the 15 years since militant groups seized power in the coastal zone from rival Palestinian forces. The most recent war was in May 2021following a wave of attacks inside Israel, near-daily military operations in the West Bank, and tensions at Flashpoint. , the Holy Land of Jerusalem, where tensions soared again earlier this year.
Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Al-Nahra told Iran's Al-Mayadeen television network, "We are starting a fight and the Palestinian resistance fighters are fighting this invasion." We have to come together to face it," he said. He said there would be no "red line" in the confrontation and condemned Israeli violence.
Hamas spokesman Forge Barhoum said: "Israel's enemies who initiated the escalation against Gaza and committed new crimes must pay the price and take responsibility for it." rice field.
Islamic Jihad is smaller than Hamas, but shares much of its ideology. Both groups oppose Israel's presence and have carried out numerous deadly attacks over the years, including rocket launches into southern Israel. It is unclear to what extent Hamas controls Islamic Jihad, and Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited communities near Gaza early on Friday and said authorities were preparing "action to remove the threat from the region." , did not elaborate.
"We will work with internal resilience and external forces to restore daily life in southern Israel," he said.
Hundreds of Israelis protested near the Gaza Strip early on Friday, demanding the return of the bodies of captives and two Israeli soldiers detained by Hamas.
Protesters were led by the family of Hadar Gordin, who was killed along with Oron Shaul in the Gaza civil war in 2014. Hamas has listed their remains and a group of people they believed to be mentally ill after wandering into Gaza. still holding two Israeli civilians detained in the hope of exchanging them for some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Protesters They passed through two police checkpoints on a road near the heavily guarded Gaza Strip and stopped at a third.
They found the soldier's body, It carried a large billboard demanding the return of Abraham Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli man in his late 20s or early 30s whose family joined the protest.
Prisoner Hisham Al-Sayed, an Israeli Arab citizen, has released a rare video showing him in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask and an IV drip after he said he had recently become ill, covering the protests. One reporter had not heard any mention of al-Said.
Israel and Egypt have maintained a tight blockade of their territories all this time, and Israel has warned Hamas to increase its military strength. critics say the policy amounts to the collective punishment of Gaza's two million Palestinians.
Israel and Hamas have held numerous negotiations through Egypt over possible swaps, it said, adding that there could be no major move toward lifting the blockade until the captured civilians were released.
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