Rockets, air strikes end brief ceasefire
JERUSALEM — Israel says it has resumed strikes on targets linked to the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza after it fired a number of rockets into Israel.
The announcement by the Israeli military early Friday indicated that an unofficial ceasefire declared nearly 24 hours earlier was breaking down.
The truce had ended two days of fighting ignited by Israel’s targeted killing of one of the Iranbacked militant group’s top Gaza commanders. The fighting killed 34 Palestinians, including 16 civilians, according to rights groups.
Islamic Jihad fired at least 450 rockets into Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday, most of which landed in open areas or were intercepted. Sporadic rocket fired continued Thursday after the ceasefire was announced. Israel began responding early Friday.
Before the truce was announced, a predawn
Israeli air strike killed eight members of the same family in Gaza. Among them were five children, the youngest 7 years old.
It was the deadliest single attack since a bruising 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, the larger militant group that rules Gaza. Islamic Jihad claimed no link to the family and the Israeli military offered no details on the strike.
The fighting began after Israel killed a senior commander of the Iranianbacked militant group who Israel said was behind a string of rocket attacks and was planning a crossborder infiltration. Israel hailed the operation as a victory, defending its policy of targeting militants in their homes despite civilian deaths and vowing to continue the tactic.
Islamic Jihad said it had succeeded in getting Israel to agree to a ceasefire based on several demands, including a halt to targeted killings of the group’s leaders.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Musab alBerim said the Egyptianbrokered deal went into effect at 5:30 a.m. local time. An Israeli military spokesman tweeted that the Gaza operation “is over.” Some restrictions were lifted on residents of southern Israel and traffic returned to the streets of Gaza.
But after hours of calm, a barrage of five rockets set off air raid sirens in southern Israel. No group claimed responsibility, and Israel did not immediately respond. Sirens sounded again late Thursday, when a rocket fired from Gaza was intercepted by Israeli defenses, the military said.
Israel typically does not publicly acknowledge deals with militant groups, and on Thursday officials said only that Israel would halt fire as long as the militants did the same. The military claimed it had killed 25 militants and struck a tough blow to Islamic Jihad facilities.