The Israel Defense forces launched Operation Breaking Dawn in the Gaza Strip today, following days of tensions in the wake of the arrest of the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Judea and Samaria.
According to reports, an IDF airstrike in Gaza on Friday killed senior PIJ commander Tayseer Jabari, who is believed to have replaced Baha Abu al-Ata as the head of the terrorist group in northern Gaza who himself was assassinated by the Israeli military in 2019.
The IDF declared a “special situation” throughout the homefront and warned residents within an 80-kilometer (50 miles) radius of Gaza, including those living as far as Tel Aviv, that there was a risk of rocket attacks.
The IDF reportedly deployed Iron Dome missile defense batteries to central Israel in anticipation of potential barrages.
Egyptian mediators on Tuesday were dispatched to Gaza, with Jerusalem having reportedly conveyed a message via the intermediaries to Hamas, which rules the Palestinian enclave, and PIJ that it was not interested in an escalation.
However, with parts of the country’s South effectively closed for the last four days, diplomatic efforts to prevent the outbreak of fighting had been “exhausted,” Israeli media reported.
On Monday, Israeli forces launched an operation in Jenin that resulted in the arrest of Bassam al-Sa’adi, who leads PIJ in Judea and Samaria and is suspected of building terror cells in the area.
The Israeli forces came under fire, and a gun battle ensued, according to the IDF, and a number of terrorists were hit. At least one gunman—later claimed by PIJ as one of its members—was killed, according to the statement.
Khaled al-Batsh, head of the politburo of PIJ in Gaza, said on Wednesday: “We have every right to bomb Israel with our most advanced weapons and make the occupier pay a heavy price. We will not settle for attacking around Gaza, but we will bomb the center of the so-called State of Israel,” according to The Media Line. JNS
Not the most auspicious time of year for such activities