TE24 International Desk:
Israel said on Sunday it had killed a senior Islamic jihadist commander in a crowded refugee camp in Gaza. Iran-backed militant groups fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response. The risk of skirmishes and cross-border skirmishes escalating into full-scale war was high.
The Hamas group that controls the Gaza Strip, which launched its 11-day war with Israel in May 2021, is likely to seek Israeli retaliation and an economic deal with Israel that includes Israeli work permits for thousands of workers. Fear of cancellation seems to be sitting on the sidelines for now. Eliminated the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and strengthened its control.
Islamic Jihad commander Khaled Mansour was killed late Saturday in an air strike on a house in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. 4,444 2 other militants and 5 civilians were also killed in the attack, bringing the Palestinian death toll to 31 since the Israeli offensive began on Friday. The dead included six children and four women. More than 250 people have been injured since Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Israel said on Saturday that some of the deaths were caused by errant rocket launches, including one in the Jebaliyah refugee camp in northern Gaza that killed six Palestinians. On Sunday, two people were killed when a missile hit a house in Jebaliya in the same area. The Palestinians blamed Israel, which said it was investigating whether the area was hit by a stray missile.
Mansour, the commander of Islamic Jihad in the southern Gaza Strip, was at the home of a member of the group when the rocket attack occurred.
Suddenly, without warning, the house next door is bombed and in an instant everything is black with smoke and gray with dust. He said that his son was injured by a knife. Al-Qaysi agreed to demolish parts of his home to make room for rescue workers. Israel’s Rafah attack in the northern Gaza Strip was reported on Friday. It was the deadliest so far in the current series of battles that began with the targeting and killing of an Islamic Jihad commander.
Israel said it had taken action against the militant group over specific threats of an imminent attack, but did not elaborate. His interim prime minister, Yair Lapid, a veteran diplomat but inexperienced in overseeing war, launched an offensive three months before the general election and sought to defend his position in the general election. fighting for
In a statement on Sunday, Rapid said its forces would continue to strike targets in Gaza “with precision and responsibility to minimize non-combatant casualties.” Rapid said the attack that killed Mansoor was a remarkable achievement.
Operations will continue as long as necessary, Rapid said. Israel estimates that about 15 militants were killed in the airstrikes.
Islamic Jihad has fewer fighters and supporters than Hamas, and much less is known about its weapons. Both parties claim to destroy Israel, but they have different priorities and are constrained by the demands of the Hamas government.
The Israeli military said militants in Gaza fired about 580 rockets at Israel. The military said its air defenses intercepted many of them and two were shot dead in Jerusalem. Islamic Jihad has fewer fighters and followers than Hamas. Both parties want the destruction of Israel, but their views differ.
Air raid sirens sounded in the Jerusalem area on Sunday for the first time since last year’s war between Israel and Hamas.
Jerusalem is usually the focal point during the cross-border war between Israel and Gaza. On Sunday, hundreds of Jews, including rabid ultranationalist lawmaker Itamar Ben Gubir, marched on Jerusalem’s Thorn, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. I visited a holy place. Police said the tour ended successfully under heavy police security.
Visits to such demonstrations by Israeli hardliners have sparked violence in the past in an attempt to emphasize Israel’s claim to sovereignty over disputed Jerusalem. It is central to conflicting narratives of the people and Israeli Jews.
In Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank, Israeli security forces said they arrested 19 people suspected of links to Islamic Jihad in a night raid.
The battle was sparked by the killing of a senior Islamic Jihad commander in an attack Israel said was intended to prevent an imminent attack on Israel on Friday.
On Sunday, Hamas appeared to have yet to join the fray. Groups have strong incentives to avoid another war. Last year’s war between Israel and Hamas was one of its four major conflicts in the past 15 years, along with several smaller ones.
Since the last war, Israel and Egypt have eased the border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt when Hamas took control of the region 15 years ago and signed an agreement based on exchanging rest for work permits. made an implied contract. Israel has issued work permits to 12,000 workers in the Gaza Strip and has promised another 2,000 permits.
Gaza’s only power plant shut down on Saturday afternoon due to an energy crisis. Israel has closed its border crossings into Gaza since Tuesday. The new outages left Gaza residents with only four hours of electricity a day, increasing their reliance on private generators and exacerbating the region’s chronic power crisis in the summer heat.
Source of information: Los Angeles Times
