Tel Aviv, May 9, (dpa/GNA) – Following recent heavy incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Israel attacked targets of the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad, killing at least 13 Palestinians, including several high-ranking officials of the group.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) early on Tuesday said a high-ranking Islamic Jihad officer was killed in what it is calling Operation Shield and Arrow.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the dead included four women and four children in the strikes on Gaza and Rafah.
A further 20 were injured, some of them critically, the ministry said.
The Israeli army justified the operation citing rocket attacks from Gaza on the Israeli border area in recent weeks.
However, the massive attack was unexpected following a return to normal for nearly a week.
The Israeli army said the three militants were Chalil Bahitini, a commander in the northern part of the Gaza Strip who was responsible for recent rocket attacks on Israel; Jahed Ahnam, head of the military council; and Tarek Az Aldin, who coordinated attacks in the West Bank.
Weapons factories for the production of rockets in Chan Junis and other jihad facilities were also attacked, according to the military.
Palestinian sources and eyewitnesses said earlier that Israeli drones hit two buildings belonging to Islamic Jihad in Gaza City and Rafah in the early hours of the morning. Both buildings were badly damaged and were on fire, they said.
The military imposed restrictions on communities in southern Israel.
Last week, the Israeli army said Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets and several mortar shells at Israel following the death of a high-profile Palestinian prisoner. Several people were injured.
Civilians in southern Israel were ordered to stay near a designated shelter until Wednesday. Border crossings with Gaza were also closed, according to the Jerusalem Post. Some roads and schools were also closed.
The latest tensions stem from the death of Khader Adnan a week ago. The senior member of Islamic Jihad movement died after spending almost three months on hunger strike in an Israeli jail.
Several Palestinian militant organizations in the Gaza said they would retaliate. According to the prison authorities, Adnan had been imprisoned for alleged membership of a terrorist organization and support for terror and incitement.
GNA