Egypt brokered an end to two days of cross-border fighting in Gaza on Wednesday, during which Israel’s air force attacked Islamic Jihad targets and Palestinian militants fired rockets as far as Tel Aviv.
Following months of increasing attacks, Israel launched strikes on Tuesday against three Islamic Jihad commanders. It alleged they were planning attacks on Israelis, triggering the second round of cross-border fire in a week.
According to Islamic Jihad spokesman Dawoud Shehab, Cairo has begun peace talks. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Kan that Israel was examining the Egyptian proposals.
As explosions shook a northern Gaza Strip training camp and a southern open area, the Israeli military claimed it had preemptively struck missile facilities. Minutes after the assaults, Israel’s border settlements and commercial capital Tel Aviv, 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Gaza, activated sirens.
According to a military officer, 300 missiles were fired, with 66 of them missing in Gaza. The terrorist leadership in Gaza, comprising Islamic Jihad and Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
According to Israeli military officials, Hamas, which is known to have hundreds of rockets, has not fired any missiles.
They stated that Israeli airstrikes mostly targeted the smaller Islamic Jihad organization. They are an Iranian-backed terrorist group based in Gaza that has been active in the West Bank in recent months.
Israeli border towns evacuated
Twenty Palestinians, including at least five women and five children, three senior Islamic Jihad commanders, and four gunmen, have been killed since Israel commenced pre-dawn assaults on Tuesday.
The militant joint leadership said the missile salvos were in retaliation for the Israeli assaults, which it described as “a savage and treacherous bombardment of civilian houses that resulted in the deaths of several innocent civilians.”
In Gaza, rocket trails have emerged. Iron Dome interceptions caused no casualties in Israel.
Following the death of an Islamic Jihad hunger striker in Israeli custody last week, Islamic Jihad fired over 100 rockets over the border, while Israeli jets bombed Gaza targets for hours.
According to municipal head Gadi Yarkoni, 30% of Israeli border residents were evacuated before to Wednesday’s missile attack.
Israel closed its two commercial and pedestrian crossings into Gaza, shutting businesses and schools. The bill would halt business, petroleum, humanitarian supplies, and medical patients from the West Bank and Israel.
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians who shot at them earlier Wednesday in Qabatiya, occupied West Bank. They enlisted in the Islamic Jihad. The military discovered an assault weapon in their vehicle.
