Politics Israeli army: Islamic Jihad commander killed

SDA

17.9.2024 - 13:31

ARCHIVE - Smoke rises from Israeli bombardment. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
ARCHIVE - Smoke rises from Israeli bombardment. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Keystone

According to Israel's army, an important commander of a Palestinian terrorist organization was killed in an attack inside a humanitarian zone in Chan Junis in the Gaza Strip.

Keystone-SDA

Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash was responsible for firing rockets from the area designated as a humanitarian zone into Israeli territory, the Israeli military announced.

Before the attack on the commander of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rocket unit, the army had monitored the area from the air, among other things, in order to minimize the danger to civilians. The humanitarian zone is located in the south of the coastal area. Israel's army reportedly killed Al-Hashash there on Monday.

"The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue to systematically abuse the civilian and humanitarian infrastructure in order to carry out terrorist activities and attacks on Israeli civilians," the Israeli army continued.

Health authority: 26 dead within 24 hours

The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre of more than 1,200 people killed by terrorists from Hamas, the PIJ and other groups in Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, a further 26 people were killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip within 24 hours. Since the beginning of the war, a total of 41,252 people have been killed in the coastal area. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and fighters.

A month ago, the Israeli army announced that "more than 17,000 terrorists" had been killed in the Gaza war. None of these figures can be independently verified.