Israeli Airstrike: Islamic Jihad Commander Killed

    A battery of Israel's Iron Dome defence missile system. (Source: Associated Press)

On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander in a crowded refugee camp in Gaza, bringing the death toll to 31 Palestinians, including women and children, since Israel launched a high-profile military offensive.

The militant group supported by Iran responded to the second such targeted attack by firing hundreds of rockets at Israel as the border battle heated up.

A day after another Israeli attack killed the militant's commander in the north, Khaled Mansour, who oversaw operations for the Islamic Jihad, which is sponsored by Iran, was killed late on Saturday.

The attack on Saturday claimed the lives of two more militants, five civilians, and six children, increasing the total number of Palestinian fatalities to 31, including four women and six children.

   Relatives of Muhammad Hassouna, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike mourn before his funeral (L), and Palestinians search the rubble of a               building.Credit: AP

More than 250 people have been injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, since Friday.

Israel claims that some of the fatalities were brought on by errant rocket fire, including a Saturday incident that left six Palestinians dead in the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Two men were killed on Sunday when a projectile in the same Jebaliya neighbourhood struck a home. Israeli officials claimed they were looking into whether an errant rocket had hit the area, but the Palestinians blamed Israel.

The ruling Hamas party in Gaza looked to take a back seat for the time being, probably out of concern for Israeli retaliation and the potential unravelling of economic agreements with Israel, including Israeli work permits for thousands of Gaza citizens, that support its power.

Israel started the conflict on Friday by assassinating the Islamic Jihad commander in charge of northern Gaza. The bloodshed between Israel and Palestinian militants is thought to be at its deadliest level since an 11-day war came to an end in May 2021.

                   Medics treat a wounded girl at the al Najar hospital. Credit: AP

Israel has claimed that it took action against the militant group in response to specific threats of an impending attack, but it has not given any additional information.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, the army would continue to hit Gaza Strip targets "carefully and responsibly to minimise the harm to noncombatants." The process will go on for as long as is required.

According to Israel, 15 militants were killed as a result of airstrikes.

When the rocket struck, Mansour, the Islamic Jihad leader for southern Gaza, was inside a member of the group's apartment. The missile flattened the three-story building and severely damaged surrounding homes.

Wissam Jouda, who lives adjacent to the targeted building, claimed, "Suddenly, without warning, the house next to us was bombed and everything became black and dusty with smoke in the blink of an eye."

According to the Israeli army, terrorists in Gaza fired about 580 missiles at Israel. Many of them, according to the army's air defences, were intercepted, with two of them being fired at Jerusalem when they were shot down. Islamic Jihad has fewer militants and followers than Hamas.

Although both organisations demand the destruction of Israel, their goals differ.

Air raid sirens sounded in the Jerusalem area for the first time Sunday since last year’s Israel-Hamas war.

Jerusalem is typically a flash point during periods of cross-border fighting between Israel and Gaza.

On Sunday, hundreds of Jews, including firebrand ultra-nationalist lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir, visited a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

According to authorities, the visit, which was concluded peacefully and under close police protection.

Violence has already been provoked by such provocative trips by Israeli hardliners attempting to emphasise Israeli claims of sovereignty over disputed Jerusalem.

The sacred place is crucial to the conflicting narratives of Israeli Jews and Palestinians and is located on the fault line of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.