Israel bombs Gaza in ‘preemptive war’ Day 2 | Gaza

Israel bombed the Gaza Strip for the second day in a row in what it described as a “pre-production war” against Palestinian militant groups in the worst escalation of violence since last year’s 11-day war.

Israeli fighter jet Hit some sites Part of a surprise operation called “Breaking Dawn” in the blockaded territory on Friday, said the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it had foiled a suspected planned rocket attack by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. There is also, but Islamic Jihad is affiliated with Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Strip.

As gunfire continued and Israel appeared to expand its operations on Saturday morning, health officials in the Palestinian coastal enclave said 12 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, including Islamic Jihad commander Taisir Jabari. said he did. A 22-year-old art student. About 80 more were injured.

Islamic Jihad called the first Israeli artillery strike a “declaration of war” and fired at least 100 rockets into southern Israel on Friday night. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage as many rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, but 13 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

The hostilities have left Gazans afraid of another war. Hamas Israel and Egypt seized control of the Strip in 2007. A year later, as Israel and Egypt closed their borders on the Strip, her two million inhabitants in the region suffer from unemployment, collapsing health infrastructure, and lack of electricity and clean water.

Hamas has expressed support for Islamic Jihad and said it would respond to strikes. “The Resistance, with all its weapons and military factions, is united in this campaign and will have the final say,” the group said in a statement.

Egypt has historically been an intermediary between Israel and militants. Gazasaid it had been informed by Israel that Breaking Dawn would be a small-scale attack, but that negotiations had not yet opened.

This weekend’s riots came after days of tension sparked by the arrest of Islamic Jihad chief Bassem al-Saadi in the occupied West Bank. The IDF has conducted raids across the West Bank almost every night since mid-March in response to a wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.

Islamic Jihad did not fire rockets after Saadi’s arrest, but Israel has said throughout the week that the group is seeking retribution, closing the Erez crossing used by Palestinians to enter Israel in Gaza. closed roads and restricted the movement of civilians in southern Israel. Precautions.

Israeli tanks and armor lined up along the border on Friday after the military said it was bolstering its forces on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a televised address on Friday: “Israel has no interest in the wider conflict in Gaza, but neither does it avoid it.

The Gaza Strip has remained relatively quiet since the civil war last May, with 256 deaths in Gaza and 14 in Israel.

A month later, Israel elected a coalition government including members of the independent Arab-Israeli political party for the first time in opposition to escalation with the Palestinians. increased the number of work permits for Palestinians to enter Israel.

The short-lived coalition collapsed in June. Interim Prime Minister Rapid is gearing up for November 1 elections, where he faces pressure from Israel’s right wing and takes a tough stance on terrorism.