"The entire security echelon of [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad has been eliminated" within the framework of Operation Breaking Dawn, the head of the IDF Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk told the press Saturday night, before the terrorist group on Sunday morning confirmed the killing of one of its senior armed commanders in the southern Gaza Strip.
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"The Al-Quds Brigades [Jerusalem Brigades] mourns the leader Khaled Mansour, member of the security council and the commander of the southern region [of the Gaza Strip] who was martyred as a result of an Israeli air strike yesterday [Saturday]," the group said in a statement.
Also eliminated in the attack was Ziad Al-Mudallal, the son of senior PIJ leader Ahmad al-Mudallal.
Here's what you need to know about Israel and Gaza right now: pic.twitter.com/B8UtEJmCMH
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 6, 2022
The IDF continued to strike terrorist targets in Gaza early Sunday morning following a barrage of rockets fired at southern Israel overnight.
According to IDF Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Ran Kochav, an underground attack tunnel belonging to PIJ was destroyed in an airstrike.
The Defense Ministry's Government Activities in the Territories unit (COGAT) said that as of Sunday morning, Operation Breaking Dawn had resulted in 25 Palestinian casualties in Gaza, 5-6 of whom were non-combatants, along with 250 wounded, some of them moderately and seriously. Over the past two days, the IDF said it has attacked some 140 PIJ targets in Gaza, including senior commanders, rocket crews, an underground tunnel, 10 military outposts, 10 rocket launching pads, 6 weapons warehouses, and more.
Some 580 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since the launch of Operation Breaking Dawn on Friday afternoon, with sirens and explosions even being heard in central Israel cities such as Tel Aviv. Around 120 of those rockets have landed in the Gaza Strip.
Rocket sirens blared and explosions were heard in the Jerusalem area on Sunday morning following a lull in the attacks, indicating possible Israeli aerial interceptions.
In another blow to the terrorist group, IDF troops arrested another senior PIJ leader in Judea and Samaria early Sunday.
Nasser Amor, the army said, was arrested in his home in the village of Anza, southwest of Jenin.
The IDF also reportedly arrested senior PIJ member Sheikh Bassam Diab near Jenin, N12 reported early Sunday morning, citing Palestinian reports.
A senior member of the terrorist group, Muhammad al-Hindi, called for Palestinians in Judea and Samaria to rise up against Israel, saying "the West Bank must start with a popular resistance."
Meanwhile, the IDF on Saturday circulated a video showing that a rocket hitting the Gazan refugee camp of Jabalia was launched by PIJ terrorists.
The video clearly shows the short trajectory of the rocket, launched in Gaza, turning around, and landing nearby.
תיעוד הירי הרקטי הכושל של גא״פ בג׳אבליה: pic.twitter.com/wfiOsQ3l3c
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 7, 2022
The strike, which Palestinian media attributed to Israel, killed at least five children and wounded 15 others.
An Israeli security source confirmed that the IDF was not carrying out any raids in Gaza at the time of the strike on the refugee camp.
"Another very important phenomenon could be seen in the last few hours," said Basiuk. "The Islamic Jihad fires hundreds of rockets, a significant part of which hits inside the Gaza Strip. According to all the data I have – I see that the attack on Jabalia is self-inflicted. The organization not only endangers Israeli lives, it also hurts the Palestinians. We will continue and act against the Islamic Jihad as long as we need to. We will not stop until the Islamic Jihad stops threatening us. Patience is important, not everything works smoothly in such operations. So far the results are good."
Meanwhile, the United States States and United Kingdom on Saturday both expressed support for Israel's military operation.
"The United States fully supports Israel's right to defend itself. We are urging all sides to avoid further escalation," the US State Department said in a statement.
"We have been in touch with Israeli officials and others in the region working to avoid further escalation. We are not going to get into the details of our sensitive diplomatic discussions," the statement concluded.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement that "The UK stands by Israel and its right to defend itself. We condemn terrorist groups firing at civilians and violence which has resulted in casualties on both sides."
"We call for a swift end to the violence," Truss concluded.
Later Sunday, Prime Minister Yair Lapid will convene a security update with Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that it had invited Netanyahu to the meeting.
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