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Israel Kills Senior Islamic Jihad Commander in Gaza Israel Kills Senior Islamic Jihad Commander in Gaza
(about 2 hours later)
JERUSALEM — In a surprise strike before dawn on Tuesday, Israeli forces killed a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip, officials said, in a rare targeted killing that was likely to prompt a fierce response. JERUSALEM — In a surprise strike before dawn on Tuesday, Israeli forces killed a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip, setting off waves of retaliatory rocket attacks that immediately raised fears of an escalating new conflict.
Islamic Jihad said that the commander’s wife was also killed in the attack, which the Israeli military said was a missile strike from a fighter jet.Islamic Jihad said that the commander’s wife was also killed in the attack, which the Israeli military said was a missile strike from a fighter jet.
Right away, militants in Gaza began firing barrages of rockets toward southern Israel from the Palestinian coastal enclave. A spokesman for the Israeli military, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, put the unofficial count of rockets fired from Gaza in the dozens so far, though with no damage yet reported. Alarm sirens began ringing in Tel Aviv and surrounding neighborhoods. Right away, militants in Gaza began firing barrages of rockets toward southern and central Israel from the Palestinian coastal enclave. Islamic Jihad released a statement saying “our response to this crime will have no limits.” The group called the strike “a declaration of war against the Palestinian people.”
Islamic Jihad released a statement saying “our response to this crime will have no limits.” The group called the strike “a declaration of war against the Palestinian people.” Bracing for a broader fight, the Israeli military said in a statement that it had deployed troops and was “prepared for a wide range of offensive and defensive scenarios.” But it also said it was hoping to avoid such an escalation, and noted that it was refraining, at least in the first several hours of rocket strikes, from responding with additional airstrikes in Gaza.
Bracing for a broader conflict, the Israeli military said in a statement that it had deployed troops and was “prepared for a wide range of offensive and defensive scenarios.” Schools and businesses were closed in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area as air-raid sirens blared and Iron Dome missiles intercepted incoming rockets. Tens of thousands of Israelis took cover in bomb shelters. Businesses in Tel Aviv were permitted to reopen if their employees had access to shelters they could reach quickly, but schools stayed closed.
At first light, the Israeli police announced that roads around the Gaza Strip had been closed to traffic and that the train service in southern Israel had been suspended. Schools on both sides of the border were closed. As of 9:10 a.m., around 50 rockets had been fired into Israel, the military said, and air defenses had intercepted about 20.
The Israeli military described the commander, Baha Abu al-Ata, as a “ticking bomb” who was “responsible for most of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s activity in the Gaza Strip.” The group is listed as a terrorist organization by many countries, and is supported by Iran. The only confirmed Israeli casualties as of midmorning involved people who suffered minor injuries as they raced to shelters or who were treated for panic or fainting.
Explaining the timing of the airstrike, the Israeli military said it had been stalking Mr. Abu al-Ata for about a week because of intelligence that he had been planning a specific attack on Israel. The Israeli military described the commander, Baha Abu al-Ata, as a “ticking bomb” who was “responsible for most of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s activity in the Gaza Strip.” The group is listed as a terrorist organization by many countries, and is supported by Iran.
Colonel Conricus said the attack was timed when the chance of other deaths or injuries would be lowest. He said the military was aware of and looking into reports of “other casualties,” including Mr. Abu al-Ata’s wife. The military said Mr. Abu al-Ata was to blame for rocket fire toward the Israeli border town of Sderot in August and early November, and he was being closely monitored over the past week because he was planning a specific new attack against Israel.
A spokesman for the Israeli military, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said the attack was timed to minimize the chance of other deaths or injuries. He said the military was aware of and looking into reports of “other casualties,” including Mr. Abu al-Ata’s wife.
Islamic Jihad also blamed Israel for another missile attack at dawn on Tuesday on the Damascus home of Akram al-Ajouri, describing him as a member of the group’s political bureau in Syria.
Mr. Ajouri was reported to have survived the attack. Sana, the official Syrian news agency, reported that a son of Mr. Ajouri and another civilian were killed in the attack. Mr. Ajouri is said to be the direct superior of Mr. Abu al-Ata. The Israeli military refused to comment on the attack in Damascus.
Islamic Jihad described Mr. Abu al-Ata as one of the most prominent members of the movement’s military council and the group’s commander of the northern region of the Gaza Strip. But Israel said his purview and authority was broader than that title suggested.
In recent weeks Mr. Abu al-Ata had seemed increasingly like a marked man, judging from the reporting of Israeli military correspondents.In recent weeks Mr. Abu al-Ata had seemed increasingly like a marked man, judging from the reporting of Israeli military correspondents.
“We tried to message and to communicate to him and his superiors that we were aware of his plans, and to indicate that continued attempts to execute those plans would have consequences,” Colonel Conricus said, adding that Mr. Abu al-Ata’s name had been mentioned frequently in the news media “not by mistake.”“We tried to message and to communicate to him and his superiors that we were aware of his plans, and to indicate that continued attempts to execute those plans would have consequences,” Colonel Conricus said, adding that Mr. Abu al-Ata’s name had been mentioned frequently in the news media “not by mistake.”
Islamic Jihad described Mr. Abu al-Ata as one of the most prominent members of the movement’s military council and the group’s commander of the northern region of the Gaza Strip. Hamas, the larger Islamic militant group that dominates in Gaza, said it, too, mourned Mr. Abu al-Ata’s death and said that his killing would not go unpunished. Islamic Jihad and Hamas are uneasy rivals in Gaza, but in times of hostility with Israel, the groups tend to make common cause.
Hamas, the larger Islamic militant group that dominates in Gaza, said it mourned the commander’s death and said that the killing would not go unpunished. Islamic Jihad and Hamas are uneasy rivals in Gaza. But in times of hostility with Israel, the groups tend to make common cause. Giora Eiland, a retired Israeli general and former national security adviser, said that unlike Hamas, which has a strong and popular political component, Islamic Jihad “is purely a terrorist organization. It has no real political agenda, and more important, Islamic Jihad is fully supported by Iran and fully subordinated to Iranian instructions.”
The killing came after a period of relative quiet along the border, though there had been some sporadic rocket fire of late out of Gaza, a tiny Palestinian enclave along the Mediterranean coast. He said that Islamic Jihad had been developing an increasingly independent approach to the conflict with Israel, ignoring the implicit understandings between Israel and Hamas to try to avoid escalation, and that Mr. Abu al-Ata had carried out some surprise attacks of his own in recent months.
The violence came at a time of political tension within Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fighting for his political future and leading a caretaker government after two elections, in April and September, ended inconclusively. Mr. Netanyahu has been serving as both prime minister and defense minister for the past year. Mr. Eiland said he believed that the Damascus attack was also carried out by Israel, and said that Islamic Jihad personnel in Syria had a direct connection with Iran and gave instructions to the group’s members in Gaza.
The office of Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday that the attack had been carried out on the recommendation of the military chief of staff and the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, and with the approval of Mr. Netanyahu and the Israeli cabinet. The killing of Mr. Abu al-Ata came after a period of relative quiet along the border, though there had been some sporadic rocket fire of late out of Gaza, a tiny Palestinian enclave along the Mediterranean coast.
The military said Mr. Abu al-Ata was responsible for rocket fire toward the Israeli border town of Sderot in August and early November and was preparing further attacks. Mr. Netanyahu’s office said the attack had been carried out on the recommendation of the military chief of staff and the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, and with the approval of the Israeli cabinet.
Militant groups in Gaza have clashed with Israel several times in recent years, with the last deadly conflagration taking place over several days in May. A devastating war in the summer of 2014 lasted 50 days and ended with a fragile cease-fire that has since been broken many times.Militant groups in Gaza have clashed with Israel several times in recent years, with the last deadly conflagration taking place over several days in May. A devastating war in the summer of 2014 lasted 50 days and ended with a fragile cease-fire that has since been broken many times.
Targeted strikes against militant leaders have led to war before. In 2012, an Israeli airstrike that killed Ahmed al-Jabari, the Hamas military commander at the time, became the opening shot of an eight-day war.Targeted strikes against militant leaders have led to war before. In 2012, an Israeli airstrike that killed Ahmed al-Jabari, the Hamas military commander at the time, became the opening shot of an eight-day war.
In the hours after the attack masked militants of Islamic Jihad surrounded the two-story building where Mr. Abu al-Ata and his wife were killed. It is in Shejaiya, a neighborhood east of Gaza City that saw fierce battles during the 2014 war.In the hours after the attack masked militants of Islamic Jihad surrounded the two-story building where Mr. Abu al-Ata and his wife were killed. It is in Shejaiya, a neighborhood east of Gaza City that saw fierce battles during the 2014 war.
Mutassem Hilis, 23, a university student and a neighbor of the Abu al-Ata family in Shejaiya, said he was woken up by the blast. Mr. Hilis said he came out of his building and saw Mr. Abu al-Ata’s body on the sidewalk. One of Mr. Abu al-Ata’s young sons lay injured on the ground, and was later driven off to hospital, he said. The body of Mr. Abu al-Ata’s wife was found in a school opposite the family house.Mutassem Hilis, 23, a university student and a neighbor of the Abu al-Ata family in Shejaiya, said he was woken up by the blast. Mr. Hilis said he came out of his building and saw Mr. Abu al-Ata’s body on the sidewalk. One of Mr. Abu al-Ata’s young sons lay injured on the ground, and was later driven off to hospital, he said. The body of Mr. Abu al-Ata’s wife was found in a school opposite the family house.
Days ago, Mr. Netanyahu appointed Naftali Bennett, an often provocative right-wing politician and former education minister who has long urged a more aggressive approach to Gaza, to the defense ministry post in a political move that analysts said was designed to shore up Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc of allied parties. But the military said that Mr. Netanyahu alone gave approval for the strike. Within Israel, the violence Tuesday occurred in a moment of heightened political tension, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fights for his political life. He is leading a caretaker government after two elections, in April and September, ended inconclusively. He has been determined to remain prime minister under any possible coalition agreement that may emerge, and he faces a looming indictment in three graft cases, possibly by the end of this month.
Mr. Netanyahu’s chief political rival, Benny Gantz, a former military chief of staff and leader of the centrist Blue and White party, is trying to form a new governing coalition. On Tuesday, he expressed support for the military action against Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He wrote on Twitter that the political echelon and the military had “taken a correct decision tonight for the security of Israel’s citizens and the residents of the south.” Benny Gantz, a centrist former Israeli army chief of staff who defeated Mr. Netanyahu in the September election, now is seeking to form a government and possibly force Mr. Netanyahu from power for the first time in a decade.
Despite Mr. Gantz’s support, questions were already being raised by some of Mr. Netanyahu’s critics about the timing of the attack. Mr. Netanyahu has been determined to remain prime minister under any possible coalition agreement that may emerge, and he faces a looming indictment in three graft cases, possibly by the end of this month. One controversial option for Mr. Gantz would be to form a minority government relying on the support of Arab lawmakers from outside his coalition. On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu assailed this prospect, saying such a government would be “a danger to Israel’s security.”
Omer Barlev, a Labor Party legislator, wrote on Twitter that Mr. Abu al-Ata had been a marked man for a long time: “In the past year and a half there have been numerous opportunities to eliminate him as well as other senior jihad and Hamas officials, but the Cabinet has refrained from doing so. Why did Netanyahu change his position now?” The viability of that path to a coalition seemed in question Tuesday morning.
Mr. Gantz expressed support for the military action against Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He wrote on Twitter that the political echelon and the military had “taken a correct decision tonight for the security of Israel’s citizens and the residents of the south.”
But the leader of the mainly Arab Joint List, Ayman Odeh, called the strike politically motivated. “A cynical man who lost two consecutive elections will leave only scorched earth in a desperate attempt to remain in office,” he wrote on Twitter.
Still, the possibility of a unity government in which Mr. Gantz would join forces with Mr. Netanyahu, and perhaps even allow Mr. Netanyahu to remain in the top office for a limited period of time, may just have increased given the security flare-up. And few Israelis want a third election.
Mr. Netanyahu had been serving as both prime minister and defense minister for the past year. Days ago, he appointed Naftali Bennett, an often provocative right-wing politician and former education minister who has long urged a more aggressive approach to Gaza, to the defense ministry post, in a move that analysts said was designed to shore up Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc of allied parties. But the military said that Mr. Netanyahu alone gave approval for the strike in Gaza on Tuesday.
Despite Mr. Gantz’s support, questions were already being raised by other Netanyahu critics about the timing of the attack.
Omer Barlev, a Labor Party legislator, wrote on Twitter that Mr. Abu al-Ata had been in the military’s sights for a long time: “In the past year and a half there have been numerous opportunities to eliminate him as well as other senior jihad and Hamas officials, but the Cabinet has refrained from doing so. Why did Netanyahu change his position now?”
Adding that Mr. Gantz had seven days left of his allotted time to form a government, Mr. Barlev said, “The answer is unfortunately clear.”Adding that Mr. Gantz had seven days left of his allotted time to form a government, Mr. Barlev said, “The answer is unfortunately clear.”
Isabel Kershner reported from Jerusalem, and Iyad Abuheweila from Gaza. Ibrahim El-Mughraby contributed reporting from Gaza, and David Halbfinger from Jerusalem. Isabel Kershner and David M. Halbfinger reported from Jerusalem, and Iyad Abuheweila from Gaza City. Ibrahim El-Mughraby contributed reporting from Gaza City.