GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel unleashed a wave of airstrikes on Gaza on Friday, killing at least 10 people, including a senior militant, according to Palestinian officials. Israel said it targeted the Islamic Jihad militant group in response to an “imminent threat” following the recent arrest of another high-ranking militant.
Hours later, Palestinian militants launched a barrage of rockets as air raid sirens sounded in Israel and the two sides moved closer to another all-out war. Islamic Jihad claimed to have fired 100 rockets.
Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas leaders have fought four wars and several small battles in the past 15 years at an exorbitant cost to the 2 million Palestinian inhabitants of the territory.
An explosion was heard in Gaza City, where smoke billowed from the seventh floor of a tall building. Video released by the Israeli military showed the strikes blowing up three guard towers with suspected militants inside.
In a nationally televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said his country launched the attacks based on “concrete threats”.
“This government has a policy of zero tolerance for any attempted attack – of any kind – from Gaza into Israeli territory,” Lapid said. “Israel will not sit idly by when there are those who try to harm its civilians.”
He added that “Israel is not interested in a wider conflict in Gaza but will not hesitate either.”
The violence is a first test for Lapid, who assumed the role of acting prime minister before the November elections, where he hopes to keep his post. He has experience in diplomacy, having served as foreign minister in the outgoing government, but his security credentials are slim.
Hamas also faces a dilemma in deciding whether to join a new battle barely a year after the last war caused widespread devastation. Since then, there has been almost no reconstruction and the isolated coastal territory is mired in poverty, with unemployment hovering around 50%.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 5-year-old girl and a 23-year-old woman were among those killed in Gaza, without distinguishing between civilian and militant casualties. The Israeli army said early estimates were that around 15 fighters had been killed. Dozens of people were injured.
Islamic Jihad said Taiseer al-Jabari, its commander for northern Gaza, was among the dead. He had succeeded another militant killed in an airstrike in 2019.
An Israeli military spokesman said the strikes were in response to an “imminent threat” from two militant squads armed with anti-tank missiles. The spokesman, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said al-Jabari was deliberately targeted and was responsible for “multiple attacks” against Israel.
Hundreds of people marched in a funeral procession for him and others who were killed, with many mourners waving Palestinian and Islamic Jihad flags and calling for revenge.
Israeli media showed the skies above southern and central Israel lighting up with rockets and interceptors from Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. An explosion was heard in Tel Aviv.
It was not immediately clear how many rockets had been launched, and there was no immediate word on the casualties on the Israeli side.
Israel continued to strike other targets on Friday, including weapons production facilities and Islamic Jihad positions.
The UN special envoy to the region, Tor Wennesland, said he was “deeply concerned”.
“The launching of rockets must cease immediately and I call on all parties to avoid further escalation,” he said.
After the first Israeli strikes, a few hundred people gathered outside the morgue of the main Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Some walked in to identify loved ones and came out later in tears.
“May God take revenge on the spies,” one shouted, referring to Palestinian informants who cooperate with Israel.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved an order to call up 25,000 reserve troops if needed as the military announced a ‘special situation’ on the home front, with schools closed and limits imposed on activities in the communities within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the border.
Israel closed roads around Gaza earlier this week and sent reinforcements to the border as it prepared for a revenge attack after the arrest on Monday of Bassam al-Saadi, an Islamic Jihad leader, during a a military raid in the occupied West Bank. A teenage member of the group was killed in a shootout between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants.
Hamas seized power in the coastal strip from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Its most recent war with Israel was in May 2021, and tensions soared again earlier this year following a wave of attacks inside Israel, near-daily military operations in the West Bank and tensions at a holy site in Jerusalem.
Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhalah, speaking to Iran’s Al-Mayadeen TV channel, said “Palestinian resistance fighters must unite to confront this aggression.” He said there would be “no red lines” and blamed the violence on Israel.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said “the Israeli enemy, which triggered the escalation against Gaza and committed a new crime, must pay the price and take full responsibility.”
Islamic Jihad is smaller than Hamas but largely shares his ideology. Both groups oppose Israel’s existence and have carried out dozens of deadly attacks over the years, including firing rockets into Israel. It is unclear what control Hamas has over Islamic Jihad, and Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza.
Israel and Egypt have maintained a strict blockade on the territory since Hamas took power. Israel says the shutdown is necessary to prevent Hamas from building up its military capabilities, while critics say the policy amounts to collective punishment.
Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Shifa Hospital, said hospitals were facing shortages after Israel imposed a full closure on Gaza earlier this week. He said there were enough essential supplies and medicines to sustain hospitals for five days in normal times, but with a new round of fighting underway “they could run out at any time”.
Israel canceled a planned fuel delivery for Gaza’s only power plant, which was due to close early Saturday if fuel did not enter the territory. Even when the plant is operating at full capacity, Gazans still experience daily power outages that last several hours.
Earlier Friday, a few hundred Israelis demonstrated near the Gaza Strip demanding the return of the remains of two Israeli soldiers held by Hamas.
The protesters were led by the family of Hadar Goldin, who, along with Oron Shaul, was killed in the 2014 Gaza war. Hamas still holds their remains, along with two Israeli civilians who strayed into Gaza and are believed to be mentally ill, hoping to exchange them for some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israel says there can be no major progress towards lifting the blockade until the remnants of soldiers and captive civilians are freed. Israel and Hamas have held numerous rounds of Egyptian-mediated talks on a possible swap.
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Krauss reported from Ottawa, Ontario. Associated Press reporter Ariel Schalit of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, Israel, and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.