Israel on Saturday continued its airstrikes in Loopfrom where the organization Islamic Jihad responded with rocket fire, in the most serious escalation of violence in the Palestinian enclave since the war in May last year.
The Israeli army reported that had killed 15 Islamic Jihad fighters on Friday in attacks directed primarily at weapons manufacturing sites.
LOOK: Israel bombards Gaza after rocket fire from Hamas-controlled territory
For his part, andhe Ministry of Health in Gaza reported 10 dead, “including a 5-year-old girl”, and 75 wounded.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapidindicated that the operation was directed “against an immediate threat”.
The Islamic Jihadincluded in the list of terrorist organizations of the United States and the European Union (EU), confirmed the death of one of its leaders, Tayseer al Jabari ‘Abu Mahmud’.
In IsraelWarning sirens sounded in several southern towns as the rockets were fired, but no casualties or damage were reported, according to the army, which reported that of the 70 projectiles fired from Gaza, 11 landed inside the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
The remaining rockets were either intercepted by the Israeli missile shield or landed in uninhabited areas of Israel.
At night, the Islamic Jihad announced that his military branch had fired “more than 100 rockets” at Israelas an “initial response” to the offensive of the Hebrew State.
Egypt, a historical mediator between Israel and armed groups in Gaza, sought to intervene in the conflict and could receive a delegation from Islamic Jihad, Egyptian authorities told AFP.
“We want to live”
AFP reporters observed during the day the transfer of wounded and the action of firefighters to put out several fires. Numerous inhabitants flocked to the morgues.
“We hope the situation does not get worse,” said Abdullah al-Arayshi, a 22-year-old from Gaza. “We want to live. Enough of wars, of destruction. We are a generation that has lost its future.” he added.
Hundreds of people participated in the evening at the funeral of Al-Jabari.
Meanwhile, the little girl’s father Alaa Kaddum The five-year-old also said goodbye to her daughter, with a pink bow in her hair and a gash on her forehead.
“The Zionist enemy initiated this aggression and must prepare for us to fight relentlessly,” the secretary general of Islamic Jihad told Lebanese Al-Mayadeen television from Tehran.
The first Minister stone accused the Islamic Jihad of being a “propping up force for Iran that seeks to destroy the State of Israel and kill innocent Israelis.”
The Palestinian Presidency, based in Ramallah (occupied West Bank), condemned “Israeli aggression.”
The UN envoy for the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, said he was “deeply concerned”, alarming in a press release of a “very dangerous escalation”.
The Israeli offensive followed the arrest on Monday in the occupied West Bank of an Islamic Jihad leader, Basem Saadi.
Israeli authorities feared retaliatory attacks from Gaza, a territory ruled by the Islamist group Hamas and with a strong Islamic Jihad presence.
The army closed all border crossings on Tuesday, blocking the entry of thousands of Gazans who have work authorization in Israel.
Israel Since 2007, it has imposed a strict blockade of the Gaza Strip, an enclave of 362 km2 in which 23 million inhabitants live, with high levels of unemployment and poverty.
The last Israeli bombardments in the area dated from February 19, when the army attacked a Hamas position, responding to a rocket fire coming from the enclave.
This Friday’s is the worst confrontation between the Jewish State and the armed organizations in Gaza since the eleven-day war in May 2021, which left 260 dead on the Palestinian side, including combatants, and 14 dead on the Palestinian side. Israelincluding a soldier, according to local authorities.
Source: Elcomercio
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