Foreign Affairs

Israel Kills Two Terror Group Commanders In Airstrike

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Israeli airstrikes killed two Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror leaders in Gaza, raising the total to five terrorist commanders killed since fighting began, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

On May 9, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Sword and Shield, killing three senior commanders of PIJ in Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Force. PIJ has launched numerous rockets at southern Israel since targeted operations by Israeli forces began three days ago, according to the AP.

⭕️Follow the rockets that misfired and killed civilians in Gaza.

This morning a barrage of rockets was fired by the Islamic Jihad, multiple rockets fell inside Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Of54wYoCPB

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2023

Health officials in Gaza reported 25 people have been killed since fighting began on May 9, according to the AP.  Israel has reported one death so-far from rocket fire in the conflict, according to Reuters.

“Up to now, we have inflicted upon Islamic Jihad in Gaza the hardest blow in its history,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Within mere seconds, two seconds, in the middle of the night, at three separate locations, we simultaneously eliminated the terrorist organization’s leaders.”

The State Department officially designated PIJ as a foreign terror organization in 1997.

“In response to our actions, Islamic Jihad has launched rockets at Israel,” said Netanyahu. “A quarter of the rockets, maybe close to a third, fell on their territory. The decisive majority of the rockets were intercepted by our defensive systems.”