Agencies-Gaza post
IOF ready for ‘week of fighting,’ as +12 Palestinians killed in Gaza
The Israel occupation forces said Saturday morning it was prepared for a “week of fighting” against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in the Gaza Strip, as it killed 12 Palestinian were killed, and more than 160 missiles were launched at Israel from the coastal enclave, with the central city of Modiin targeted as well as southern cities and towns.
The military launched Operation Breaking Dawn with airstrikes in Gaza on Friday afternoon in reaction to what officials claimed was an ongoing “concrete” threat to target Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Islamic Jihad then began to fire rockets at Israeli communities in southern and central Israel, with the rocket fire continuing into Saturday afternoon.
At the start of a round of Israeli strikes, the military killed one of PIJ’s senior commanders, Tayseer Jabari, Jabari replaced Baha Abu al-Ata as the group’s commander in northern Gaza after the latter was killed in an Israeli strike in 2019.
In a briefing to journalists Saturday morning, military spokesperson Ran Kochav said the IOF had struck some 40 Islamic Jihad places in the Gaza Strip, including six weapon manufacturing workshops, two weapons storage sites, six observation posts, and five rocket-launching positions.
Kochav reported Jabari was “not the final target in Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” indicating that Israeli operations would continue.
The IOF added there were currently “no negotiations underway” to bring an end to the violence.
“We are preparing for a week of fighting under the guidance of the political echelon. If we can shorten [the fighting], we will,” Kochav added.
The military stated the Iron Dome missile defense system has demonstrated a 95 percent success rate at intercepting the projectiles fired toward Israeli towns by Gaza-based terror groups.
Kochav said at least 30 of the rockets fired by terrorists did not cross the border into Israel and landed within the enclave; another 60 of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome, and the remainder landed in open areas.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz meanwhile ordered the military to resume offensive actions against the PIJ “with a focus on operations to thwart rocket fire at Israel,” his office said on Saturday.
After barrages were fired at southern Israel on Friday night, as well as several missiles launched toward central Israel, the rocket attacks on Saturday morning were initially limited to areas closer to the Gaza Strip.
