Steph Deschamps / August 6, 2022
Israel continued Friday its strikes in the Gaza Strip against the Islamic Jihad organization, of which it estimates to have killed fifteen fighters, while a dozen civilians including a child have also died, according to the authorities of the Palestinian enclave.
During this preventive attack against Islamic Jihad, 15 fighters were killed, estimated after a first series of raids an Israeli military spokesman, Richard Hecht. He said that the Hebrew state was expecting rocket fire from Gaza towards the center of the country.
In the evening, the army announced that it would continue its strikes, particularly east of Gaza City, according to witnesses.
Islamic Jihad, an organization considered terrorist by Israel, the European Union and the United States, confirmed the death of one of its leaders, Tayssir Al-Jabari.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported ten dead, including a five year old girl, and 55 injured.
The first round of strikes included Khan Younes in the south and a residential area in central Gaza City, witnesses and Palestinian security sources said.
In Gaza, AFP journalists saw wounded people being evacuated by emergency services, firefighters working to put out fires and residents crowding into morgues.
The Zionist enemy started this aggression and should expect us to fight relentlessly... There will be no truce after this bombardment, said Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhala in an interview with Lebanese Al-Mayadeen television in the Iranian capital Tehran.
There will be no red lines in this battle (...) Tel Aviv and other Zionist cities will be targets of the resistance's missiles, he added.
Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Tayssir Al-Jabari in Gaza in the evening, according to an AFP team.
These raids on the territory of 2.3 million people, 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 the 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 cancelled trains.
To our enemies, and especially to the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, I would like to stress: your time is running out. The threat (to southern Israel) will be eliminated one way or another, said Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid assured that the security forces would act against the Islamic Jihad terrorists to eliminate the threat they pose to the citizens of Israel.
Anyone who tries to harm Israel should know: we will find you, he added.
In Ramallah in the West Bank, the Palestinian presidency condemned the Israeli aggression and held the Jewish state responsible for the dangerous escalation.
Israel has imposed a strict blockade on Gaza since 2007, a micro-territory plagued by poverty and unemployment.
The Israeli army ordered the closure of border crossings on Tuesday, forcing thousands of Gazans with work permits in Israel to stay at home. The closure has slowed the delivery of diesel, which is needed to power the Gaza power plant.
This unique power plant is in danger of closing due to a lack of fuel, its director warned on Thursday.
About 50 people who normally leave the enclave every day for medical treatment have also been affected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The last Israeli strikes on 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. Against a backdrop of tensions that began in East Jerusalem, the 11-day war left 260 Palestinians dead, including many fighters, and 13 Israelis dead, including a soldier, according to local authorities.