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| Israel kills Baha Abu Al-Ata, top Palestinian militant in Gaza | Israel kills Baha Abu Al-Ata, top Palestinian militant in Gaza |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Israel has killed one of the most senior commanders of a militant group in the Gaza Strip in an air strike. | Israel has killed one of the most senior commanders of a militant group in the Gaza Strip in an air strike. |
| Baha Abu Al-Ata, a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), was killed along with his wife, when a missile hit their home, the group said. | Baha Abu Al-Ata, a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), was killed along with his wife, when a missile hit their home, the group said. |
| Israel said Al-Ata was a "ticking bomb" who was planning "imminent terrorist attacks". | Israel said Al-Ata was a "ticking bomb" who was planning "imminent terrorist attacks". |
| Rocket barrages were fired at southern Israel from Gaza in the wake of the killing, which PIJ has vowed to avenge. | |
| There were no immediate reports of injuries. | There were no immediate reports of injuries. |
| PIJ, which is backed by Iran, is the second largest militant group in Gaza and has carried out many rocket attacks on Israel. | PIJ, which is backed by Iran, is the second largest militant group in Gaza and has carried out many rocket attacks on Israel. |
| Around the same time as Al-Ata was killed, another senior figure from PIJ was killed in an Israeli rocket strike on his home in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Syria's state news agency Sana said. | |
| Akram al-Ajouri died along with his son in the attack, Sana reported. Israel has not commented on the incident. | |
| The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip and is considered a rival of the PIJ, condemned Al-Ata's killing, vowing it "will not pass without punishment". | |
| The overnight attacks mark a significant escalation in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups, which have fought each other in wars and cross-border violence for years. |