Palestinian militants vow imminent revenge on Israel for assassination of PIJ commander Taysir al-Jabari

RT
Fri, 05 Aug 2022 18:16 UTC

© AFP / Mahmud Ham

Palestinian mourners carry the body of Islamic Jihad commander Tayseer al-Jabari during his funeral in Gaza City on August 5, 2022

Tel Aviv will be targeted by missiles within hours, leader declared

Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad Al-Nakhala said on Friday that his group would target Tel Aviv with missiles "in the coming hours." Earlier, an Israeli airstrike killed a senior commander of the militant organization.

"Metropolitan Tel Aviv will be one of the targets of the resistance missiles, and the coming hours will prove to the enemy that all the resistance forces are one and we will fight them as one man," Al-Nakhala said in remarks reported by Palestine's Quds News Network.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have meanwhile deployed Iron Dome missile defense batteries near the cities of Beersheba, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. Flights have been diverted from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and bomb shelters in the city have been made ready, the Times of Israel reported.

The IDF launched airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza earlier on Friday, killing PIJ commander Taysir al-Jabari. The strikes, dubbed 'Operation Breaking Dawn' by the IDF, targeted between 10 and 20 PIJ terrorists, and killed members of a "terrorist squad" who were "on their way to carry out an anti-tank missile and sniper attack," the Israeli military claimed.

Palestinian officials said that, apart from al-Jabari, at least seven people were killed in the strikes, including a five-year-old girl, and more than 40 were injured.

Comment: So it was Israel who struck the first blow. But that factoid will not make it into the mainstream narrative.

The dramatic escalation in Gaza came after Israeli officials warned for days of impending strikes from the PIJ. The warnings began after Israeli forces arrested the group's West Bank leader, Bassem Saadi, in the city of Jenin on Monday. A Palestinian teenager was killed in the raid on Saadi's home, triggering outcry across the Palestinian territories and prompting the PIJ to place its fighters on high alert.

While Hamas, another Palestinian militant group, was not targeted in Friday's operation, it put out a statement shortly after al-Jabari's death was announced, saying "the blood of our people and the resistance are not shed in vain."

Comment: The Palestinian reaction was swift:

The PIJ said that it fired more than 100 rockets at towns in southern and central Israel, adding that the barrage was "just the beginning" of its response to al-Jabari's assassination. The IDF claimed that around 80 rockets were fired from Gaza, with around half falling short over the Palestinian enclave. Of the 46 that made it into Israeli territory, 33 were intercepted by the Iron Dome while the rest fell in open areas, the IDF stated.

The PIJ is believed to possess homemade al-Quds rockets, as well as anti-tank missiles and the Qassam rockets more commonly deployed by Hamas, a larger Palestinian militant group.

Amid the salvo from Gaza, Israeli aircraft launched a wave of further airstrikes on Gaza, targeting what the IDF said were "weapons production sites, warehouses and firing positions." Video footage captured the moment an alleged rocket firing position and two storage warehouses were obliterated with missiles.

Israel appears to be preparing for more than just air strikes. Hoping that the world will be distracted by the Ukraine and Taiwan crises?

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz gave the green light on Friday to call up some 25,000 military reservists, should they be required. Israel is on a state of high alert, with Palestinian militants promising revenge for the killing of one of their top commanders in an Israeli airstrike.

Gantz' office announced the potential call-up less than an hour after Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader Zihad Al-Nakhala threatened to rain down missiles on the city of Tel Aviv over the "coming hours."

The IDF meanwhile posted video footage of its troops forming up and apparently preparing for combat.

Iron Dome missiles are expensive, at more that $50K a pop. Given the size of the PIJ barrage, and the promise it will not end soon, Israel knows it's very important to keep its arms sugardaddy onside:

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a phone conversation with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin on Friday night to update him on the objectives and progress of the ongoing military offensive in Gaza, dubbed 'Operation Breaking Dawn'. While the IDF claims it took out senior terrorists, Palestinian officials say dozens of civilians were killed or injured.

"Minister Gantz emphasized that the State of Israel is working to defend its citizens, and will operate decisively and with as great precision as possible against terror operatives and infrastructure in order to reach its objectives," Gantz's office said in statement about the call.

Turkey makes its views known:

Turkey has condemned Israeli military operations in Gaza, urging for de-escalation amid an exchange of IDF airstrikes and rocket fire from Palestinian militants. Washington, meanwhile, has voiced full support for the Jewish state.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it "strongly" condemned the Israeli airstrikes on Friday, calling for "restraint and common sense" while stressing the need "to immediately end these events before they turn into a new conflict."

"We find it unacceptable that civilians, including children, lost their lives in attacks," the ministry said, adding, "We are deeply concerned about the rising tension in the region after the attacks."

Turkey's relations with Israel have waxed and waned according to Erdogan's sense of realpolitik. Currently they are on a downward slide.

Erdogan says Turkey 'won't allow' Israel to claim new West Bank territories