The Israeli government has wasted no time in retaliating to a continuous and intense bombardment by Islamic jihad militants from the Gaza Strip, fighting back with successful airstrikes. In recent days, along with accurate air defense protecting Israeli cities from the Palestinian rocket fire, Israeli defense forces have employed precise airstrikes to target and eliminate specific jihadi terrorist leaders.
The Associated Press described the most recent clashes:
“It has been the worst bout of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza in months, with at least 10 civilians – mostly women and children – among the dead. The conflagration … comes at a time of soaring tensions and spiking violence over the past year in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian militants launched unrelenting rocket barrages into Israel throughout the day.”
Press reports explain the primary foe facing Israel is the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), whose fanatic zeal seems limitless and whose armaments cache is extremely large and lethal. But the 803 rockets launched since May 10, 620 of which entered Israel, did not come without consequences to the PIJ terrorists. The Israel Defense Forces “struck a number [of] targets belonging to PIJ in response to the rocket fire before it announced in the late afternoon that it had killed the deputy head of the group’s rocket-launching force, Ahmed Abu Daqqa, in an attack in the town of Bani Suheila, near Khan Younis”, according to a BBC dispatch.
Israel Relies on Precision Airstrikes
In responding to the Palestinian rocket barrage earlier in the week, an Israeli precision airstrike on a car carrying four Palestinians killed two passengers and injured two. “The Israeli military said that the passengers were members of an Islamic Jihad squad who were on their way to a launchpad and were carrying a number of anti-tank guided missiles,” reported the New York Times. In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified his government’s position regarding terrorist rocket attacks on Israel and its intentions for retribution. In addition to the targeted air attacks killing the PIJ terrorists, “Israel also targeted 10 facilities in Gaza that were used by Palestinian Islamic Jihad to manufacture and store weapons,” Netanyahu told the television audience.
Furthermore, Netanyahu sent a message directed at the PIJ militants: “Those who seek to harm Israel will be harmed. Those who kill our citizens will pay a very heavy price. And those who fire on our cities and civilians will be held responsible for their actions … You can run. You can hide. But in the end, Israel will get you.” The prime minister also made the point that whereas the Israeli military goes to extraordinary lengths to prevent innocent civilian casualties among the Palestinians, the Islamic terrorists purposefully target civilians. Israel “mourns the loss of innocent lives. They celebrate the loss of innocent lives,” Netanyahu said.
Most Threats Against Israel Come from Gaza
Regardless of the lopsided capability Israel has compared to Palestinian terrorists in Gaza and other locations surrounding the Jewish nation, Iran continues to support the rocket programs of groups like Hezbollah and Hamas in addition to the PIJ. Furthermore, there is coordination among the terrorist groups Israel faces. As the Jerusalem Post explained as recently as May 9:
“Most of the threats by Palestinian Islamic Jihad come from Gaza. It has built up a rocket arsenal there, under the protection of Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip. Over the years it has increased the range and diversity of this arsenal, extending it from short-range rockets to much longer range, with Iranian backing. PIJ may appear to be secondary in size to Hamas, but while Hamas must work to govern the strip, PIJ can remain a lean terror machine focused only on threatening Israel and honing its weapons.”
Consequently, the random acts of terror against Israel by Iranian-supported Islamic jihadists have brought the conflict to Iran’s doorstep. Just a few months ago, Liberty Nation reported, “on Jan 28, small Israeli UAVs began to rain down fire on Iranian targets in the dark of night. One specific military facility was reported hit by what is believed to be small quadcopter weapons-capable drones.” The armed unmanned aerial vehicle assault on Iranian targets was a message from Prime Minister Netanyahu, the first since his return to leadership.
Despite Israeli counterattacks and retaliation operations, an end to the jihadist rocket attacks does not seem likely any time soon. According to a Foundation for Defense of Democracies 2022 analysis, the PIJ “had an estimated arsenal of about 6,000-8,000 rockets ranging a few kilometers to 120 kilometers [73 miles].” Interventions by other nations like Egypt have had little success in curbing the Palestinian attacks. US influence to reduce the violence has not been in evidence.
