200 missiles target Israel
Gaza fury after slay of 'Jihad' big
Israel came under heavy bombardment Tuesday as almost 200 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the targeted killing of a senior Islamic Jihad leader.
Two Israelis were injured by shrapnel in the barrage of some 190 rockets that were launched after Bahaa Abu el-Atta — the top commander of the Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist group — and his wife were killed in their home in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, according to the Times of Israel.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said the violent response to the assassination “will continue, but with wisdom.”
The Israeli Iron Dome missile-defense system intercepted dozens of the incoming rockets — some of which reached as far as Tel Aviv — in the worst cross-border fighting in months, according to Israeli military officials.
Twenty-three Israelis were treated for injuries sustained after falling while running to bomb shelters during the rocket sirens, officials said.
The targeted strike that killed el-Atta came as Syrian state media said a separate missile attack had hit the home of Akram al-Ajouri, another Islamic Jihad official, in Damascus, killing one of his sons and a granddaughter.
Israel did not comment about the claim that it was responsible for the strike that killed al-Ajouri.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces carried out three waves of retaliatory strikes after the Palestinian rocket attacks.
The IDF said all the airstrikes in the first wave targeted Islamic Jihad underground facilities which are used for storage and manufacturing of weapons.
The second wave targeted training compounds, including one used by the group’s naval commando unit, the shaft of a cross-border attack tunnel and a tunnel-digging site, according to military officials.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency said five Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in the retaliatory airstrikes.
None of the Israeli retaliatory strikes targeted Hamas, the group the IDF tends to strike following violence from the Gaza Strip.
Earlier in the day, Israeli defense officials said that if Islamic Jihad restrained itself and Hamas did not join the rocket fire, Israel would hold back from targeting Hamas.
“Terrorists think they can hit civilians and hide behind civilians,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from the Kirya Military Headquarters in Tel Aviv.
“We showed that we can hit the terrorists with minimal damage to civilians. Anyone who thinks they can hit our civilians and get away with it is wrong. If you hit us we will hit you.”