Palestinian militants fire dozens of rockets at Israel after airstrikes in Gaza kill 'senior Islamic militant
- The Islamic Jihad says it will hit Tel Aviv, as well as other cities
- Israel closed off all Gaza crossings and roads, restricting Palestinian movement
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Friday after airstrikes killed a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the Jewish state was forced to launch a 'pre-emptive counter-terror operation against an immediate threat' posed by the Islamic Jihad group, following days of tensions along the Gaza border.
Islamic Jihad unleashed a flurry of more than 100 rockets towards Israel.
As darkness fell, Israeli authorities said sirens had been sounded in southern and central areas, while images broadcast by Israeli television stations appeared to show a number of missiles being shot down by air defence systems.
In Tel Aviv, Israel's economic centre, witnesses said they could hear booms but there were no reports of sirens.
Islamic Jihad, a militant group with a similar ideology to Hamas, the Islamist movement in charge of Gaza, said it had fired more than 100 rockets on Friday into Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv.
But Israel's ambulance service said there were no reports of casualties on the Israeli side of the border, while its military said the operation in Gaza had killed 15 'terrorists'.
Israel's military said Defence Minister Benny Gantz had approved plans to call up 25,000 reservists following the strikes, signalling that Israel expects an extended confrontation.
Gantz visited communities near Gaza earlier on Friday, saying authorities were preparing 'actions that will remove the threat from this region,' without elaborating.
Rockets fired by Palestinian militants toward Israel, in Gaza City, Friday
Israel pounded Gaza with air strikes
Israeli tanks were lined up along the border and the military said Thursday it was reinforcing its troops.
'Israel carried out a precise counterterror operation against an immediate threat,' Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a televised statement in which he pledged to do 'whatever it takes to defend our people'.
'Our fight is not with the people of Gaza. Islamic Jihad is an Iranian proxy that wants to destroy the State of Israel and kill innocent Israelis,' he said.
'The Israeli government will not allow terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip to set the agenda in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip and threaten the citizens of the State of Israel,' Prime Minister Yair Lapid said.
'Anyone who tries to harm Israel should know: We will find you.'The Israeli military said in a Twitter post that its war planes targeted Islamic Jihad sites in Gaza that 'severely affect the organisation's ability to develop military capabilities.'
An Islamic Jihad official confirmed that al-Jaabari, whom the Israeli military described as the main coordinator between Islamic Jihad and Hamas, had been killed in the strikes, which hit several targets around the densely populated strip.
Smoke rose from a building where al-Jaabari was apparently killed and glass and rubble were strewn across the street amid the sound of ambulances racing to other sites.
Smoke and flames rise as Israeli airstrikes over Gaza Strip continue, in Khan Yunis, Gaza on August 5. The Israeli army said Friday that it had begun carrying out raids on some targets in the Gaza Strip
The Israeli military said in a Twitter post that its war planes targeted Islamic Jihad sites in Gaza that 'severely affect the organisation's ability to develop military capabilities'
Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired rockets targeting Israel
Israel's military said Defence Minister Benny Gantz had approved plans to call up 25,000 reservists following the strikes, signalling that Israel expected an extended confrontation
The strikes came after Israel arrested Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad group, during a raid in the city of Jenin earlier this week
Streaks of light are seen as Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel August 5
The strikes came after Israel arrested Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad group, during a raid in the city of Jenin earlier this week.
It subsequently closed off all Gaza crossings and some nearby roads, restricting Palestinian movement.
The Israeli military said it was targeting Islamic Jihad in an operation named 'Breaking Dawn.'
It also announced a 'special situation' on the home front, with schools closed and limits placed on other activities in communities within 50 miles of the border.
Israel's army said its air strikes in Gaza killed an estimated 15 enemy combatants, warning that the operation against the Islamic Jihad militant group was not over.
'We are assuming about 15 killed in action', army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters. 'We havent't finished yet,' he added, describing the operation as a 'pre-emptive attack' targeting a senior commander of Islamic Jihad.
Israel had closed roads around Gaza earlier this week and sent reinforcements to the border
Pro-Iranian Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhala said 'There are no red lines in this battle and Tel Aviv will fall under our rockets, as well as all Israeli cities'
Ziad al-Nakhalah said: 'We are heading to battle, and there will be no truce after this.
Islamic Jihad opposes political dialogue with Israel.
The damaged apartment of Taiseer al-Jabari the Islamic Jihad commander for northern Gaza, following an Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City, Friday
Palestinians pray next to the bodies of dead terrorists from the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, during their funeral in Gaza City, 05 August 2022
Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes on a building in Gaza City, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Palestinian officials say Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed a senior militant.
An Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter flies towards the border with Gaza Strip, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. Palestinian officials say Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed a senior militant.
Considered close to Iran, Islamic Jihad is separate from Hamas but generally cooperates closely with the movement.
The Israeli military spokesperson said authorities expected there would be rocket attacks against the centre of Israel but said Iron Dome anti-missile batteries were operational.
He said special measures had been imposed in Israeli areas 80 kilometres around Gaza.
He said plans to allow fuel trucks into Gaza to keep the area's sole power plant operational had been dropped at the last minute as intelligence picked up movements that indicated attacks on Israeli targets were imminent.
The lack of fuel is set to lead to more power cuts in Gaza, where residents already have just 10 hours of electricity a day, and further hit the economy of a region that depends on foreign aid.
An Israeli army soldier aims his weapon during clashes in Hebron August 5
Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict last May. Islamic Jihad is a separate group, aligned with Hamas, but that also acts independently.
A flare up with Islamic Jihad came in 2019, following Israel's killing of Baha Abu al-Ata, Jabari's predecessor.
The sides exchanged fire for several days without Hamas joining the fray.
Hamas's moves amid the current violence could prove crucial in determining its severity, with the group facing pressure from some to maintain calm in order to improve economic conditions in the territory.
Gaza City resident Abdullah al-Arayshi said the situation was 'very tense'.
'The country is ravaged. We've had enough of wars. Our generation has lost its future,' he told AFP.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad are considered terrorist organisations by much of the West.
Palestinians, including patients and those with Israeli work permits, have been prevented from leaving the Gaza Strip since Tuesday, while the goods crossing has also been shut.
Gaza's only power station is at risk of imminent outage due to a lack of fuel supplies from Israel, its manager warned on Thursday.
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