GAZA CITY (GAZA STRIP): An Israeli airstrike killed a senior commander of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, the fighters said on Sunday, their second leader to be killed amid an escalating cross-border conflict. The Saturday night murder of Khaled Mansourwho led the Iranian-backed group Islamic Jihadin the southern Gaza Strip, came a day after another Israeli strike killed the militant’s commander in the north.
Already, the fighting has killed at least 29 Palestinians and seen hundreds of rockets fired at Israel in the worst violence between Israel and Palestinian militants since an 11-day war ended in 2021.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the army would continue to strike targets in the Gaza Strip “in a precise and responsible manner in order to minimize harm to non-combatants. The operation will continue for as long as necessary.”
Meanwhile, tensions could rise as Jews mark a holy day that will see ultra-nationalist Israeli lawmakers visit a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble. Sanctuary.
Such visits can be a frequent focus of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades confirmed on Sunday that the airstrike in the southern Gaza town of Rafah killed Mansour and two other militants.
Militants said the strike also killed civilians by razing several houses.
On Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry said 29 people had been killed in the fighting so far in the coastal strip, including six children and four women. He said at least 253 people were injured.
Israel estimates that its airstrikes killed around 15 militants.
Islamic Jihad militants continued to fire rockets into Israel and the Israeli army continued its airstrikes on Gaza, although the intensity of the exchanges appeared to wane early on Sunday.
Air raid sirens sounded Sunday in the Jerusalem area for the first time since last year’s war between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, Jews marked Tisha B’av, a dark day of fasting that marks the destruction of biblical temples and brings thousands to Jerusalem for prayer.
By early morning, Israeli police said several hundred Jews had already ascended the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary.
Police described the situation as calm as Jews held prayers at the Western Wall, which is considered the holiest site where Jews can pray.
In Palestinian towns in the West Bank, Israeli security forces said they arrested some 19 suspected members of Islamic Jihad in overnight raids. Israeli forces said their troops suffered no injuries in the raids, which saw them use “riot dispersal methods” as Palestinians threw rocks and improvised bombs, as well as fired at their forces.
The fighting began with Israel’s killing of a top Islamic Jihad commander in a wave of strikes on Friday that Israel said were aimed at preventing an imminent attack.
Hamas, the largest militant group that rules Gaza, appears to be staying on the sidelines of the conflict for now, limiting its response.
Israel and Hamas fought a war just a year ago, one of four major conflicts and several small battles in the past 15 years that have taken a heavy toll on the impoverished territory’s 2 million Palestinian residents .
The Israeli army said a rocket fired by Palestinian militants killed civilians, including children, on Saturday night in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya.
The army said it investigated the incident and concluded “without any doubt” that it was caused by a failure on the part of Islamic Jihad. There was no official Palestinian comment on the incident.
A Palestinian medical worker who spoke on condition of anonymity because he had not been authorized to speak to reporters said the blast killed at least six people, including three children.
Israeli airstrikes on Saturday killed a 75-year-old woman and injured six others as they prepared to go to a wedding. Airstrikes also destroyed several homes in the Gaza Strip, some of which belonged to Islamic Jihad operatives.
Gaza’s only power plant shut down at noon on Saturday due to a lack of fuel. Israel has kept its crossings into Gaza closed since Tuesday.
With the new disruption, Gazans can only use four hours of electricity a day, increasing their reliance on private generators and worsening the territory’s chronic power crisis amid peak summer heat.
Already, the fighting has killed at least 29 Palestinians and seen hundreds of rockets fired at Israel in the worst violence between Israel and Palestinian militants since an 11-day war ended in 2021.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the army would continue to strike targets in the Gaza Strip “in a precise and responsible manner in order to minimize harm to non-combatants. The operation will continue for as long as necessary.”
Meanwhile, tensions could rise as Jews mark a holy day that will see ultra-nationalist Israeli lawmakers visit a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble. Sanctuary.
Such visits can be a frequent focus of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades confirmed on Sunday that the airstrike in the southern Gaza town of Rafah killed Mansour and two other militants.
Militants said the strike also killed civilians by razing several houses.
On Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry said 29 people had been killed in the fighting so far in the coastal strip, including six children and four women. He said at least 253 people were injured.
Israel estimates that its airstrikes killed around 15 militants.
Islamic Jihad militants continued to fire rockets into Israel and the Israeli army continued its airstrikes on Gaza, although the intensity of the exchanges appeared to wane early on Sunday.
Air raid sirens sounded Sunday in the Jerusalem area for the first time since last year’s war between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, Jews marked Tisha B’av, a dark day of fasting that marks the destruction of biblical temples and brings thousands to Jerusalem for prayer.
By early morning, Israeli police said several hundred Jews had already ascended the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary.
Police described the situation as calm as Jews held prayers at the Western Wall, which is considered the holiest site where Jews can pray.
In Palestinian towns in the West Bank, Israeli security forces said they arrested some 19 suspected members of Islamic Jihad in overnight raids. Israeli forces said their troops suffered no injuries in the raids, which saw them use “riot dispersal methods” as Palestinians threw rocks and improvised bombs, as well as fired at their forces.
The fighting began with Israel’s killing of a top Islamic Jihad commander in a wave of strikes on Friday that Israel said were aimed at preventing an imminent attack.
Hamas, the largest militant group that rules Gaza, appears to be staying on the sidelines of the conflict for now, limiting its response.
Israel and Hamas fought a war just a year ago, one of four major conflicts and several small battles in the past 15 years that have taken a heavy toll on the impoverished territory’s 2 million Palestinian residents .
The Israeli army said a rocket fired by Palestinian militants killed civilians, including children, on Saturday night in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya.
The army said it investigated the incident and concluded “without any doubt” that it was caused by a failure on the part of Islamic Jihad. There was no official Palestinian comment on the incident.
A Palestinian medical worker who spoke on condition of anonymity because he had not been authorized to speak to reporters said the blast killed at least six people, including three children.
Israeli airstrikes on Saturday killed a 75-year-old woman and injured six others as they prepared to go to a wedding. Airstrikes also destroyed several homes in the Gaza Strip, some of which belonged to Islamic Jihad operatives.
Gaza’s only power plant shut down at noon on Saturday due to a lack of fuel. Israel has kept its crossings into Gaza closed since Tuesday.
With the new disruption, Gazans can only use four hours of electricity a day, increasing their reliance on private generators and worsening the territory’s chronic power crisis amid peak summer heat.
