Israel Targeted Palestinian Islamic Jihad With New Gaza Operation

DEAR FRIENDS. IF YOU LIKE THIS TYPE OF CONTENT, SUPPORT SOUTHFRONT WORK :

MONERO (XMR): 86yfEHs6pkoDEKCxc6MAnQX8cVHmzhYxMVrNuwKgNmqpWK8dDxjgGnK8PtUNJMACbn6xEGxmRauNTHJhUJpg9Mwz8htBBND

BITCOIN (BTC): bc1qgu58lfszcpqu6fd8l98m378wgzugyg9y93lcym

BITCOIN CASH (BCH): qr28d80s5juzv2793k5jrq59xrl5fxd8qg9h3zlkk2

PAYPAL, WESTERN UNION etc: write to info@southfront.org , southfront90@list.ru

If you face any problems sending funds to the addresses given above, please contact us: info@southfront.org and southfront@list.ru. Also be aware that many email services such as Hotmail, Yahoo etc. may block correspondence from info@southfront.org and some others put it in spam.

If you want to support SouthFront but have no opportunity to do it via cryptocurrency, please contact us: info@southfront.org and southfront@list.ru.

Israel has launched a new military operation against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to isolate the group and counter its influence in the occupied West Bank.

The operation, codenamed Shield and Arrow, was launched early on May 9. The decision to launch the operation came in response to a series of rocket attacks which were launched from Gaza between May 2 and 3. The attacks, which saw the firing of 104 rockets, were a retaliation to the death of senior PIJ member Khader Adnan who had been on hunger strike in Israeli prison.

In the first series of strikes, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) killed Khalil Bahtini, who commands the PIJ in northern Gaza, Jihad Ghanem, a top official in the group’s military council, and Tareq Izz ed-Din, who it said directs the group’s activities in the West Bank from Gaza.

The PIJ and other factions in Gaza responded on May 10 by launching a series of rocket attacks on Israeli settlements around the strip as a part of an operation dubbed the Revenge of the Free.

On May 11, the IDF launched more strikes on the strip, assassinating Ali Ghali, the commander of the PIJ’s rocket force, and his deputy Ahmad Abu Daqqa.

In retaliation, the PIJ and its allies launched hundreds of rockets at Israeli settlements near Gaza and a few more at the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

On May 12, more rocket attacks targeted central Israel, with impacts reported near the city of Jerusalem. The IDF retaliated by assassinating a sixth commander of the PIJ. He was identified as Iyad al-Hassani, a top official in the faction’s military council, in charge of its operations department.

Israeli strikes and Palestinian rocket attacks slowed down on May 13, as Egypt’s efforts to broker a ceasefire began to gain momentum.

A ceasefire was finally announced late on May 14, with a last-minute burst of rocket fire from Gaza, and retaliatory Israeli strikes stretching several minutes past the deadline.

The PIJ and other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza launched at least 1,234 rockets and mortar shells in the framework of Operation Revenge of the Free. The IDF said that its air defense systems, the Iron Dome and David’s Sling, intercepted 373 of the rockets.

Several rockets landed within Israeli towns, killing two and injuring 69 others, as well as causing extensive damage.

The IDF hit 371 targets belonging to the PIJ during Operation Shield and Arrow. Health officials in Gaza said that 33 people, including four women and six children, were killed, with more than 190 others wounded.

While the Israeli operation inflicted some heavy material and human losses on the PIJ, it certainly failed to isolate the faction who continued to cooperate with other parties in Gaza, including the Hamas Movement.

The post Israel Targeted Palestinian Islamic Jihad With New Gaza Operation appeared first on South Front.