Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
AT
Kabul: The Israeli military killed 15 Palestinians, including three Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commanders along with their wives and children, in a fresh attack on the Gaza Strip.
A total of 40 fighter jets participated in bombing different locations in the besieged enclave, according to the Israeli military. Another air strike in the afternoon targeted a vehicle in Qarara town in Khan Yunis.
The Palestinian health ministry said at least four children, five women, a dentist and his family were among those killed. Another 22 people were wounded, including three children and seven women, some of whom are in a serious and critical condition.
In a separate air strike more than 15 hours later, two people were killed in a shelling that targeted a vehicle in Qarara near the eastern fence that divides Gaza and Israel, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Their identities were not immediately known.
The Islamic Jihad is considered the second-largest armed group in the Gaza Strip behind Hamas, which governs the enclave.
The group said in a statement that a response to the Israeli aggression “will not take long”.
“The bombardment will be met by bombardment and the attack will be met by an attack,” said Islamic Jihad spokesperson Tareq Selmi. “This crime will not pass unpunished.”
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, said: “Assassination of leaders will not bring the occupation security but more resistance.”
The attack comes a week after a brief exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza left one Palestinian killed and two Israelis wounded.
It followed the death of prominent Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan, who was a member of the Islamic Jihad in the occupied West Bank.
The Tuesday air strikes were the largest attack mounted by Israel against Gaza since August last year, when the military assassinated senior PIJ commander Taiseer al-Jabari, triggering a three-day exchange of fire.
At least 49 Palestinians were killed in the 2022 Israeli bombardment, including 17 children, and 360 others were wounded.
