The strike came hours after Israeli military aircraft launched a series of targeted strikes on the Gaza Strip, killing at least three high-profile commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement.
At least 13 Palestinians were killed in the early morning strikes and 20 others were wounded, according to Palestinian reports, with a number of sites in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Yunis targeted, among other locations.
The Israeli minister for military affairs, Yoav Gallant, said its forces “precisely carried out their mission against the leadership of the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli military spokesmen claimed the regime had conducted a “pinpoint” operation involving 40 aircraft but they also confirmed that women and children had been killed too.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for any escalation following the latest attacks, with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh warning, “Assassination of leaders will not bring the Occupation [Israel] security but more resistance.”
Later in the day, Israeli troops also shot and killed a Palestinian girl in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the southern West Bank.
Palestinian news sources reported that Palestinian girl was fatally shot near the Beit Yatir settlement, adding that the regime’s forces claimed she was armed and intended to open fire at them.
