The Israeli military killed 13 Palestinians, including three Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commanders along with their wives and children, in an overnight Gaza attack on Tuesday.
A total of 40 fighter jets participated in bombing different locations in the besieged enclave just after 2 am local time, according to the Israeli military.
The Palestinian health ministry said four children, four women and a dentist were among those killed. Another 20 people were wounded, including three children and seven women, some of whom are in serious and critical conditions.
Three commanders in the al-Quds Brigades (Saraya al-Quds), the military branch of the Islamic Jihad, were killed along with their families in the bombardment.
They were identified as Jihad Ghannam, al-Quds Brigades’s general secretary, Khalil Al-Bahtini, al-Quds Brigades’s northern Gaza commander, and Tareq Izzeldeen, a military commander in the force.
Local media identified a well-known dentist named Jamal Khaswan among those killed at home with his wife in the air strikes, describing him as a loyal friend and humble man.
The PIJ’s al-Quds Brigades confirmed the deaths of the three commanders in a brief statement, adding: “We will not abandon our positions and the resistance will continue, God willing.”
“The bombardment will be met by bombardment and the attack will be met by an attack,” said Tareq Selmi, a spokesman of Islamic Jihad. “This crime will not pass unpunished.”
The Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that the military, working with the Shin Bet intelligence service, targeted the leadership of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza in a “precise” operation.
“It was a convergence of intelligence, timing and weather,” a military spokesperson said.
An Israeli military spokesman said the army was looking into reports of civilian deaths but had no immediate comment.
The military said Gallant had approved drafting reservists while militant groups said they would respond to the strikes, highlighting the potential for more prolonged hostilities.
Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas which governs the Gaza Strip, said in a statement: “Assassination of leaders will not bring the occupation security but more resistance.”
Last week, a brief exchange of rockets between Palestinian groups in Gaza and Israel left one Palestinian killed and two Israeli wounded.
It came after the death of hunger striker Khader Adnan, a senior Islamic Jihad figure in the West Bank.
Source: Middle East Eye
