New Delhi: Israel carried out a series of air strikes in Gaza on Friday. According to reports, at least 15 people, including a five-year-old child and an Islamic Jihad terrorist, were killed and more than 30 were injured in the attack.
Regarding the incident, Israel said it was targeting the Islamic Jihad terrorist group in response to a “potential threat” following the arrest of a senior terrorist in the West Bank earlier this week. The move comes after the group declared that Israel “has started a war against our people.”
“We anticipate about 15 killed in action,” army spokesman Richard Hecht was quoted by AFP as saying. “We are not finished yet,” he said, describing the operation as a “pre-emptive attack” to a senior Islamic Jihad commander.
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The attacks threaten to ignite another war in the region, which is ruled by the Islamist militant group Hamas and home to some 2 million Palestinians.
“The Israeli government will not allow terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip to set the agenda in the region adjacent to the Gaza Strip and threaten citizens of the State of Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement. “Whoever tries to harm Israel should know, we will find you.”