Israel continues this Friday its attacks in the Gaza Strip against the Islamic Jihad organization, which estimates that it has killed fifteen combatants, while a dozen civilians have also died, including a child, according to the authorities of the Palestinian enclave.
During this “preemptive strike” against Islamic Jihad, 15 fighters were killed, an Israeli military spokesman, Richard Hecht, estimated after a first series of raids. He said that Israel expected rocket fire from Gaza into the center of the country.
In the evening, the army announced that it would continue its attacks, particularly east of Gaza City, according to witnesses. The Islamic Jihad, an organization considered terrorist by Israel, the European Union and the United States, has confirmed the death of one of its leaders, Tayssir Al-Jabari.
The Gaza Ministry of Health, meanwhile, reported ten dead, “including a five-year-old girl,” and 55 wounded.
Islamic Jihad announces ‘relentless’ battle
The first flurry of attacks targeted Khan Younis in the south and a residential area in central Gaza City in particular, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said. In Gaza, AFP journalists watched as emergency services evacuated the wounded, firefighters worked to put out fires and residents crowded into morgues.
“The Zionist enemy started this aggression and should expect us to fight relentlessly… There will be no truce after this bombardment,” Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziad al.-Nakhala said in an interview with Lebanese Al-Mayadeen television. , in Tehran, the Iranian capital.
“There will be no red lines in this battle…Tel Aviv and other Zionist cities will be targets of resistance missiles,” he added.
Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Tayssir Al-Jabari in Gaza at night, according to an AFP team.
“Your time is running out”, threatens Israel
These incursions into the territory of 2.3 million inhabitants, under Israeli blockade, come after the arrest on Monday of a leader of Islamic Jihad in the occupied West Bank, Bassem Saadi.
Since then, Israeli authorities have feared retaliatory attacks from Gaza, an enclave controlled by Islamist Hamas and where Islamic Jihad is well established. The army had deployed reinforcements in the area adjacent to the Palestinian territory, including tanks, blocked roads and withdrawn trains.
“To our enemies, and especially the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, I would like to insist: your time is running out. The threat (to southern Israel, editor’s note) will be removed one way or another,” Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid assured him that the security forces would act “against Islamic Jihad terrorists to eliminate the threat they pose to the citizens of Israel.” “Anyone who tries to hurt Israel should know: We will find them,” he added.
Palestine denounces a “dangerous escalation”
In Ramallah, in the West Bank, the Palestinian presidency condemned the “Israeli aggression” and blamed the Jewish state for the “dangerous escalation.” Since 2007, Israel has imposed a strict blockade on Gaza, a micro-territory plagued by poverty and unemployment.
The Israeli army on Tuesday ordered the closure of border crossings, forcing thousands of Gazans, holders of work permits in Israel, to stay at home. This closure has delayed the delivery of diesel, needed to power the Gaza power plant. This unique power plant is at risk of closing due to lack of fuel, its director warned Thursday.
Some 50 people who normally leave the enclave daily for treatment have also been affected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Israel’s latest attacks in Gaza targeted a Hamas position on July 19 after a shot was fired from the enclave.
Israel and armed groups in Gaza have fought several wars, the last of which was in May 2021. Amid tensions that began in East Jerusalem, the 11-day war left 260 Palestinians dead, including many fighters, and 13 killed in Israel, including a soldier, according to local authorities.
Source: BFM TV
