To eliminate the Islamic terror groups, Israeli aircraft conducted strikes early this morning targeting Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. The residents also reported blasts in the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli forces airstrike on Gaza strip

Speaking on the airstrikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said a number of people were killed and injured in the airstrikes. It did not elaborate.

According to the local media, the strikes targeted the residences of senior Islamic Jihad commanders. There was no immediate confirmation from the group.

Witnessing the horrifying air strikes, the residents said an explosion hit the top floor of an apartment building in Gaza City and a house in the southern city of Rafah. Moreover, airstrikes continued in the early hours, targeting militant training sites resulting in a blood bath, the residents added.

The Israel-Hamas tension

The countless airstrikes come as tension boils between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the militant Hamas group. The tension is linked to increasing violence in the occupied West Bank, where Israel has been conducting near-daily raids for the past months to detain Palestinians suspected of planning or carrying out attacks on Israelis.

In anticipation of Palestinian rocket attacks in response to the airstrikes, the Israeli military issued instructions advising residents of communities within 40 kilometres of Gaza to stay close to designated bomb shelters.

Last week, Gaza militants fired several salvos of rockets toward southern Israel, and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes following the death of a hunger-striking senior member of the Islamic Jihad in Israeli custody. The exchange of fire ended with a fragile ceasefire mediated by Egypt, the United Nations, and Qatar.

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A similar airstrike did in 2022

The airstrikes are similar to ones in 2022 in which Israel bombed places housing commanders of the Islamic Jihad group, setting off a three-day blitz that saw the Iranian-backed group losing its two top commanders and other dozens of militants.

According to Israeli officials, the raids in the West Bank are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see the attacks as further entrenchment of Israel’s 56-year, open-ended occupation of lands they seek for a future independent state.

As per the reports, 105 Palestinians, about half of them are militants or alleged attackers, were killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since the start of 2023, according to an Associated Press tally.

(With Input Feeds)