A total of 15 dead
Israel attacks Palestinian militants in Gaza
05/09/2023, 21:01
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fire dozens of rockets at Israel. Now the country is reacting with the targeted killing of suspected string pullers, civilians are also killed. Concerns about a further escalation are growing.
Israel has specifically killed three senior members of the Palestinian militant organization Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian sources, a total of 13 people were killed in the night air strikes, including a dentist with Russian citizenship and several women and children. Around 20 Palestinians were injured, some of them critically.
Also in the afternoon, two members of a Palestinian militant group were killed in an Israeli attack on a car in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the army, they are said to have transported guided anti-tank missiles. Islamic Jihad confirmed the deaths of the three leading members of the Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s militant arm, and announced revenge. The Israeli army justified the strike in the night with several attacks from the coastal strip in the past few weeks. Most recently, dozens of rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel following the death of a Palestinian prisoner last week.
According to the army, the killed jihad members are a commander who is said to have been responsible for the recent rocket attacks on Israel. In addition, the head of the military council and another Islamist who is said to have coordinated attacks in the West Bank were killed. UN envoy Tor Wennesland condemned the deaths of civilians as “unacceptable”. He called on everyone involved to “exercise the greatest possible restraint and avoid escalation”.
worried about further escalation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the evening: “Our principle is clear: whoever harms us – we will strike, and with great force. Our long arm will reach every terrorist at a time and place of our choice.” Defense Minister Joav Galant said Israel is prepared for any scenario. The military was ordered to prepare for the possible mobilization of reservists.
The Israeli government received broad support for the operation from the opposition. According to media reports, the United States has also been informed of the plans. Several Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan, condemned the Israeli attacks. Civilians in southern Israel have been ordered to remain near a designated shelter until Wednesday evening. The border crossings to the Gaza Strip have been closed. Train traffic in the border area was restricted.
According to eyewitnesses, there was hardly any traffic on the streets of the Gaza Strip. Schools, universities and all ministries and public services have been closed. Long queues formed in front of bakeries. The head of the Institute for National Security Studies, Tamir Hajman, said that the future course of the conflict will depend on whether the Palestinian organization Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, takes part in possible fighting. “For Israel, Hamas is not the target of the operation, but the main question that will determine the intensity of this conflict and its duration is whether or not Hamas will intervene.” The Israeli news site ynet reported that Israel had sent a message to Hamas that it was “not targeted”.
Militants threaten retaliation
A Hamas spokesman said the Palestinian people know how to respond to the “crime” of the targeted killing of jihadists and “attack the occupying forces.” A Jihad spokesman said Israel had “ignored all mediators’ initiatives.” You will avenge the death of the three leaders.
Israel has targeted and killed jihadi leaders in the Gaza Strip several times in the past. Military chief Khalid Mansur was killed in an Israeli airstrike in August last year. Two other jihadi members were killed in the process. At that time there were massive rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory and further Israeli airstrikes. After three days, an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into effect.
More than two million people live in the Gaza Strip in very poor conditions. Hamas violently seized power in the Palestinian Territory in 2007. Israel then tightened a blockade of the coastal area, which is supported by Egypt. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are classified as terrorist organizations by the US, EU and Israel. Both groups have taken up the cause of the destruction of Israel.
However, Islamic Jihad is considered even more radical than Hamas. According to the CIA World Factbook, the number of jihadi fighters is estimated at between 1,000 and several thousand. Hamas is considered to be much stronger militarily, with the number of fighters estimated at 25,000. Unlike Hamas, Islamic Jihad has no interest in participating in the government, instead focusing on armed resistance to Israel.