Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip continued into the night early Friday as Operation Shield and Arrow entered its 4th day.
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"We are at the height of a campaign, both offensive and defensive," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement issued during a visit to an air base on Thursday. "Whoever comes to harm us – his blood is forfeit."
Overnight Thursday, no rockets were fired on Israel, but it was expected more projectiles would be in the morning or early noon, as was the case the previous day, which led to several direct hits in southern towns, as well as one fatality and over 10 injured. More than 500 rockets have been fired on Israel so far in this round of fighting, although the vast majority have been either successfully intercepted or fallen in open areas that did not threaten Israelis.
On Thursday evening, an Israeli man was killed when a rocket fire struck a four-story building in Rehobot, 12 miles south of Tel Aviv. The unidentified man's body was reportedly found under the rubble. According to reports, the Iron Dome failed to intercept the missile due to a malfunction.
It was the first Israeli fatality since the start of Operation Shield and Arrow against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Five other people were wounded in the rocket attack. Police officers were searching the site and sappers were removing parts of the rocket. Authorities reiterated calls for civilians to follow the relevant safety guidelines.
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On Wednesday, Palestinian terrorists fired hundreds of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, while Israel pressed ahead with a series of airstrikes, with the IDF announcing another high-profile assassination and rocket fire resumed on Israeli towns.
A state-run Egyptian TV station announced that Egypt, a frequent mediator between the sides, had brokered a ceasefire. But the truce efforts appeared to falter as fighting intensified late Wednesday and early Thursday, with neither side showing any sign of backing down.
Rocket fire set off air-raid sirens throughout southern and central Israel, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) away. Residents had been bracing for an attack since Israel launched its first airstrikes early Tuesday.
It was the heaviest fighting between the sides in months, pushing the region closer toward a full-blown war. But in signs that both sides were trying to show restraint, Israel avoided attacks on the ruling Hamas terrorist group, targeting only the smaller and more terrorist PIJ faction. Hamas, meanwhile, appeared to remain on the sidelines.
🔴 OPERATIONAL UPDATE: We just targeted Ali Ghali, the commander of Islamic Jihad's Rocket Launching Force, as well as two other Islamic Jihad operatives in Gaza.
Ghali was a central figure in IJ, as well as responsible for the recent rocket barrages launched against Israel. pic.twitter.com/GToj67UjTT
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2023
Early Thursday, the IDF said it targeted the commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's rocket squad in an airstrike on a building in southern Gaza. The military said Ali Ghali was hiding in an apartment and that two additional terrorists from the group were killed alongside him in the airstrike at a Qatari-built residential complex in Khan Younis. Ghali instructed and took part in rocket attacks against Israel in recent months. Shortly after the assassinations, sires were heard in Israel's south as PIJ resumed its indiscriminate fire on residents.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel said it killed another PIJ commander who was meant to replace Ghali in southern Gaza. The terror group confirmed the man, Ahmed Abu Daqqa, was one of its commanders.
Israel and Hamas have fought four wars since the Islamic terrorist group took control of Gaza in 2007. Late Wednesday, Egypt's Extra News television channel, which has close ties to Egyptian security agencies, said it had brokered a ceasefire. Egyptian intelligence frequently mediates between Israel and Palestinian terrorists.
Israeli officials confirmed that Egypt was trying to facilitate a ceasefire. Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes diplomacy, they said Israel would evaluate the situation based on actions on the ground, not declarations.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it would continue firing rockets. Mohamad al-Hindi, an official with the group, said a sticking point in the talks was that the Palestinians wanted an Israeli commitment to stop targeted killing operations, such as the ones that killed three top Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders early Tuesday.
As rockets streaked through the sky, Israeli TV stations showed air defense systems intercepting rockets above the skies of Tel Aviv. In the nearby suburb of Ramat Gan, people lay face-down on the ground as they took cover.
The Israeli military said that for the first time, an air-defense system known as David's Sling intercepted a rocket. The system, developed with the US is meant to intercept medium-range threats and is part of a multi-layered air defense that also includes the better-known Iron Dome anti-rocket system. Israeli media said a previous attempt to use the system several years ago had failed.
In a move that could further raise tensions, Israeli police said they would permit a Jewish ultranationalist parade to take place next week. The parade meant to celebrate Israel's capture of east Jerusalem and its Jewish holy sites, marches through the heart of the Old City's Muslim Quarter and often leads to friction with local Palestinians.
Israeli officials said over 400 rockets had been fired as of Wednesday evening. Most, they said, were intercepted or fell in open areas, but Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said about one-quarter had been misfired and fallen inside Gaza. Israeli rescuers said three people were hurt running for shelter, and four homes in southern Israel were damaged by rocket strikes.
The army said that schools would remain closed and restrictions on large gatherings would remain in place in southern Israel until at least Friday. Residents were instructed to stay near bomb shelters.
Eden Avramov, a 26-year-old resident of the southern Israeli town of Sderot, described the 24 hours since Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza as terrifying. "We are all traumatized from this routine – the waiting, the booms, the alarms."
Israeli aircraft hit targets in Gaza for the second straight day, killing at least five Palestinians. The Israeli military said its warplanes targeted dozens of rocket launchers, arms warehouses, and other targets across the enclave. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said four of the dead were terrorists.
A 10-year-old Palestinian girl named Layan Mdoukh was killed in a blast at her home in Gaza City in unclear circumstances on Wednesday.
The initial Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday that set off the exchange of fire killed three senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists. Israel says the airstrikes are a response to a barrage of rocket fire launched last week by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in response to the death of one of its members from a hunger strike while in Israeli custody.
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Israel says it is trying to avoid conflict with Hamas, the more powerful terrorist group that rules Gaza, and limit the fighting to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
"Our actions are meant to prevent further escalation," said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military's chief spokesman. "Israel is not interested in war."
In a statement, an umbrella organization of Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas, said the campaign against Israel involved firing hundreds of rockets in retaliation for Israel's killing of the three Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders as well as several civilians.
"The resistance is ready for all options," the factions said. "If (Israel) persists in its aggression and arrogance, dark days await it." Still, it remained unclear whether Hamas had joined the fray. If the ruling terrorist group enters the fighting, the risk of a full-blown conflict would increase.
JNS.org contributed to this report
