Middle East Conflict
More fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants
Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. photo
© Fatima Shbair/AP/dpa
As ceasefire efforts continue, Israel’s army and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip continue to attack each other.
Fighting between Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel’s army continues despite reports of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. Israel is still in the middle of an operation against the Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech in the evening.
Media had previously reported that Egypt had brokered a ceasefire. However, there was no official confirmation of this from any of the parties involved. Qatar and the UN were reportedly seeking a cease-fire alongside Egypt.
“We have dealt Islamic Jihad the heaviest blow in its history,” Netanyahu said. According to the military, Israel’s air force has attacked more than 100 targets of the militant Palestinian organization in the Gaza Strip, including weapons production sites and a headquarters from which the group planned Israel’s rocket launches. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, six Palestinians were killed and around 20 others injured on Wednesday.
Hundreds of rockets fired
On Thursday night, the Israeli armed forces reported another attack on targets in the Gaza Strip, which was aimed at the mastermind of Islamic Jihad’s missile program. According to media reports, Palestinian sources confirmed the man’s death.
According to the Israeli army, militant Palestinians had previously fired hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory. Sirens could also be heard in the greater Tel Aviv area. It was the first missile alert of this kind there since August last year. Some houses in the south of the country were reportedly destroyed. Several people were also injured on the way to shelters.
The renewed escalation of the conflict followed the targeted killing by Israel of three senior members of Islamic Jihad. The army “wiped out” the leadership of the militant Palestinian organization, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday evening.
Request from UN Secretary-General Guterres
Since the start of the Israeli military operation “Shield and Arrow” on Tuesday, 21 people have died in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian sources, at least ten of the dead were civilians.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the killing of civilians and called on Israel to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law, including not using excessive force and protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure in armed struggles. Shooting rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip also violates international humanitarian law and endangers the lives of bystanders on both sides, Guterres warned.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which rule in the Gaza Strip, are classified as terrorist organizations by the USA, the EU and Israel. Both groups have taken up the cause of the destruction of Israel.