Israel launches "Breaking dawn" operation against Islamic Jihad, Gaza Strip attacked

The Israeli armed forces attacked the Gaza Strip today in an operation called "

" claiming to hit targets attributable to the

after days of tension following the arrest of a member of the Islamist group in the West Bank, last Monday.

Gaza's health ministry has provided an initial toll of

and a 23-year-old woman

In the afternoon,

and other targets in

, in the south of the Strip, and

, in the north, were hit.

Further attacks were launched in the evening.

The Cairo government is struggling to mediate to prevent a war escalation.

Al Arabiya confirms that "an Egyptian security delegation is preparing to travel to Tel Aviv to bring calm to the Gaza Strip".

The spokesman for the Israeli armed forces reported that

including the commander in the northern

.

The latter's death was confirmed by Jihad Islami itself.

and was attended by thousands of people, among whom the leaders of

, the military wing of the Islamist organization, were recognizable.

In response to the Israeli attack,

" from Gaza into Israel.

Around 10 pm local time, 9 pm in Italy, the Israeli authorities

rockets against Israel, 46 of which crossed the border: 33 would have been intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, while the others would have fallen in open areas ,

About an hour and a half later, the

twitter profile wrote: “In just 2 hours tonight, 71 rockets were launched from Gaza towards Israel.

Nine of these rockets landed inside the Gaza Strip.

The terrorist rockets threaten innocent civilians, both Israelis and from Gaza ”.

The

have sounded in the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Sderot, in the kibbutzim of Nahal Oz and Alumim and in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip. 

newspaper

, citing army sources, wrote that the rocket launches are currently the exclusive work of Islamic Jihad while

.

AP Photo / Fatima Shbair

Rockets launched from Gaza towards Israel, seen from Gaza City

The attack threatens to trigger a new conflict in the Strip, which is administered by the Islamist group Hamas and is home to two million Palestinians.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Shifa hospital morgue in Gaza City.

"May God take revenge on the spies," screams a man referring to Palestinians who allegedly provided information to Israel, the

Islamic Jihad leader

, who is visiting Iran in recent days, urged "the Palestinian resistance to be united to face this aggression", adding that "there will be no red lines".

According to some sources, the organization has threatened to

Many took advantage of the first hours of uncertainty to run to gas stations, to crowd supermarkets and fruit and vegetable markets.

There is also a strong fear among the population that a new military confrontation with Israel could cause further cuts in the supply of electricity, which is already reduced to six consecutive hours every sixteen.

Meanwhile, Israel has closed schools and placed other restrictions on civilian activities within 80 kilometers of the border.

"We will not allow terrorist organizations to set the agenda in the Gaza Strip and threaten the citizens of Israel," said Israeli Prime Minister

After a meeting held at the Ministry of Defense, in the evening the premier spoke on television: "Today's operation in Gaza was directed against concrete threats that had upset the routine of our civilians in the south", he said, "

, but not even afraid of it ".

He also reiterated that Israel "does not accept" any ultimatum from Islamic Jihad and added that in the West Bank "whoever has to be arrested will be arrested".

He then said that the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip will go on "as long as necessary". 

Israeli military sources had previously claimed to have reacted to an "imminent threat" from Jihad Islami. The

newspaper reports that the Israeli army has announced the deployment

the border with the Palestinian enclave. The government has confirmed that it has authorized the recall of 25,000 reserve troops and additional batteries of

 "I am deeply concerned about the ongoing escalation between Palestinian militants and Israel, including the killing today of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader inside Gaza. This comes amid mounting tensions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. in recent weeks. I am deeply saddened by the reports that a five-year-old girl was killed in these raids. There can be no justification for any attacks on civilians, "said the

special coordinator for the peace process in Middle East,

The response of the

to the UN

"As Palestinian Islamic Jihad launches missiles at Israeli civilians, the UN envoy expresses" deep concern "over the neutralization of a major terrorist behind an imminent attack on Israelis.

Will he also express deep concern about the neutralization of al-Zawahiri? ". 

Fawzi Barhoum,

spokesperson

,

he said that "the Israeli enemy, who initiated the escalation against Gaza and committed a new crime, must pay the price and take full responsibility for it."

Mahmud Abbas,

also known as Abu Mazen, president of the Palestinian National Authority (which, however, does not control Gaza), condemned "the Israeli aggression against the people in the Gaza Strip, called for" an immediate end "and pointed out" the Israeli occupation forces "as" responsible for this dangerous escalation ". 

"The international community is forcing Israel to stop the aggression," he added.

A spokesman for the US National Security Council said the

was "monitoring developments" and

He then added that Washington "firmly believes that Israel has the right to protect itself".

The invitation was later reiterated by White House National Security spokesman

.

Israel and Hamas have fought four wars in the 15 years since the Islamist group took power in the Strip.

The last was in May 2021, but even at the beginning of this year the tension had risen following some attacks on Israeli territory and the almost daily military operations in the West Bank.

Jihad Islami is a smaller organization than Hamas but largely shares its ideology.

Both formations are opposed to the existence of Israel and have been responsible for rocket launches towards the Jewish state.

It is not clear how much Hamas controls the work of Islamic Jihad.

Last Friday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited communities near the border where protests had taken place to demand the return of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers by Hamas.

Gantz said "initiatives that will remove the threat to this region" were in preparation.