Officials have confirmed that at least 10 people died as a consequence of Israeli airstrikes. One of them was a senior member from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
On Friday, a blast was heard in Gaza City and smoke was visible coming from the seventh story of a tall building.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 65 people were injured. A senior Islamic Jihad commander and a 23-year old woman are also among those who died.
After days of tensions after Monday’s arrest of a senior militant from the occupied West Bank, the strike follows.
Israel closed roads around Gaza this week and sent reinforcements along the border in anticipation of retaliation.
“The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces), is currently striking in Gaza Strip. The Israeli military released a statement stating that a special situation had been declared on the Israeli Home Front.
According to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and IDF, Tayseer Al-Jaabari was the official who was killed.
According to the IDF, he was “responsible” for numerous terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians and shared a photo of him on social networking.
Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas’s spokesperson, said that “the Israeli enemy who started the escalation towards Gaza and committed a new offense, must pay the penalty and take full responsibility.”
Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Al Al Nakhala, a pro Iranian Lebanese channel, made a statement on Al Mayadeen TV, in which he vowed to retaliate for the strikes.
He stated that there are no red lines and Tel Aviv would be under the rockets to resistance as well as all Israeli towns.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited Gaza communities earlier Friday. He stated that authorities were working to remove “the threat from this area”, but did not elaborate.
He stated that “We will operate using internal resilience and external strength to restore routine life” in Israel’s southern region.
“We don’t seek conflict but we won’t hesitate to defend our citizens if necessary.”
Although smaller than Hamas, the PIJ shares a similar ideology with both groups that oppose Israel’s presence.
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