Another Day Of Airstrikes In Gaza Kills 2nd PIJ Top Commander

GAZA - Another airstrike has claimed the life of another PIJ Top Commander, Khaled Mansour, targeted at an apartment building in the crowded Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza, as the Israeli Defense Force continues their offensive against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

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The risk of the conflict is nearing a total war commitment level, as hundreds of rockets continue to be fired into Israel in retaliation from the Iranian-Funded Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has launched 580 rockets toward Israel.

Hamas, another Iranian-funded militant group, and the main voice in Gaza have to date not gotten involved out of fear of undoing economic deals with Israel, and other Israeli retaliation, according to the associated press.

The death toll has risen to 31 since the beginning of the military operation on Friday, as 5 civilians and 2 more militants were killed in the attack.

Israel has said that there have been people killed by misfired rockets from the PIJ, including 1 such incident which killed 6 Palestinians in the refugee camp in the town of Jebaliya on August 6th. Today, another misfired missile hit a home, also in Jebaliya, killing 2 men. The PIJ and Israel are blaming each other, as Israel is now investigating whether the home was hit by a misfired rocket.

Khaled Mansour, the commander of the PIJ in southern Gaza, was inside an apartment of another member of the PIJ when missiles struck the complex, bringing down the 3-story building and damaging nearby houses.


"Suddenly, without warning, the house next to us was bombed and everything became black and dusty with smoke in the blink of an eye,..." - Wissam Jouda, neighbor of the apartment building

Another neighbor, Ahmed al-Qaissi, stated that his wife and son were hit with shrapnel from the blast, and are listed among the injured.

The interim Prime Minister of Israel, Yair Lapid who is an experienced politician but has no experience in wartime, ordered the offensive on Friday, based on ongoing threats of an imminent attack from the PIJ, but has yet to provide proof of the threats. The operation was launched on Friday, August 5th, 3 months before a new government will be chosen for Israel after a vote of no confidence has forced the dissolution of the government.

Yair Lapid is currently campaigning now to re-assume the position of Prime Minister in Israel in the general election, which will be held on Tuesday, November 1st, 2022.

Lapid stated that the death of Mansour was a profound event, and airstrikes would continue in Gaza as long as necessary and as responsibly as possible to minimize civilian deaths.

The Times of Israel is reporting today, that a total of 140 targets have been hit so far in Gaza including a tunnel, observation posts, and military sites including rocket launching positions, and 8 terror squads who were en route to initiate attacks on Israel.

With the activation of the iron dome over Israel, many of the 580 rockets have been intercepted and destroyed. 2 of the intercepted rockets were on their way to Jerusalem.

The PIJ's military branch, Al Quds Brigades, has accepted responsibility for firing rockets into Jerusalem, marking the 1st time Jerusalem has been targeted in this round of fighting as sirens blared for the first time there since the Israeli-Hamas war ended less than a year ago. Jerusalem has typically been a flash point during periods of fighting between Gaza and Israel as Muslims and Jews both have a religious history in regard to the city.


Sources
The Associated Press | The Times of Israel | Al Jazeera
Photo Accreditation
Photo: Rising Smoke Over Gaza, Scott Bobb | CC-PD-Mark | PD VOA via Wikimedia Commons
 

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