The Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, pledged to continue bombing cities in Israel. In response to its continued assassinations, and the bombing of apartments and houses in the Gaza Strip.
And the Brigades said, in a brief statement, that “the resistance has prepared itself for months of confrontation, and we have a long spirit, and a great loyal popular incubator, and those who wronged will know which turn they turn.”
The threats of the Brigades, which they actually inflicted, came to hit the missiles. In response to Israel’s start of the stage of demolishing houses in the Gaza Strip, in an attempt to increase pressure on the “Jihad” movement, in order to respond to the cease-fire proposal.
The Israeli warplanes bombed several homes, at dawn and Saturday morning, in different areas in the Strip.
The planes destroyed a house belonging to the father of the leader of the Al-Quds Brigades, who was previously assassinated by Israel, Bahaa Abu Al-Atta, in Al-Shujaia neighborhood, and a house for the Muhanna family in the Yarmouk area, before destroying a house in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, then a fourth house in Beit Hanoun in the north, and a fifth house in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
Israeli planes fire warning missiles in order to leave the homes and then destroy them, in a policy they used in the previous long confrontations in order to increase pressure on the Palestinians and inflict the greatest destruction on the Strip.
Israel bombed agricultural and open areas and other targets in the Strip, which it said included “operational headquarters of the missile unit of the Islamic Jihad movement in the northern Gaza Strip.”
The brigades responded by striking the settlements around the Gaza Strip, and then expanded the targets to south Tel Aviv, before it was announced that there were casualties in the “covering of Gaza”, which later turned out to be Palestinian workers from the Strip.
The Israeli army said (Saturday) that the Palestinians had fired 1,099 rockets since the beginning of the current round, including 865 that crossed the border fence, and 340 were intercepted according to the interception policy, while 325 targets were attacked in Gaza.
And Egypt had proposed (Friday) a mutual and immediate cease-fire in order to allow for negotiations, so Israel agreed, according to Israeli sources, and rejected “Jihad”, which insisted on its demand for Israel’s commitment to stop the assassinations that affected only in the last confrontation, 6 of the most prominent commanders of the brigades, the last of them Iyad al-Hassani, who was assassinated on Friday.
The assassination of Al-Hassani represented the biggest loss for the Brigades, as he is the most important official to be assassinated in this confrontation, and he has a long military career spanning more than 3 decades, during which he assumed many missions, the last of which was membership in the Brigades Military Council and responsible for its operations unit, and responsible for coordination with the leadership of the “Al-Qassam Brigades.” The military arm of Hamas, in addition to its extended relationship with Hezbollah and Iran.
With the assassination of Al-Hassani, the number of people killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip rose to 33, including (6 children and 3 women), and 147 civilians were wounded.
The head of the government media office, Salama Maarouf, said in a press conference on Saturday, “The number of martyrs as a result of the brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip for the fifth day in a row reached 33 martyrs, 30 percent of whom were women and children, while 147 citizens were wounded, 60 percent of them.” Women and children, in clear indication of the nature of the target bank that the occupation leaders are talking about.
Maarouf confirmed that the occupation completely demolished 15 houses, with a total of 51 housing units, and 940 housing units were damaged, of which 49 housing units were unfit for habitation, and the value of initial losses estimated at nearly $5 million.
While Israel was preparing for the possibility of prolonging the battle, Hamas warned against entering the line, and a political source said that the specific targeted liquidation operations that targeted the Islamic Jihad leadership were a message to Hamas and others.
The Kan radio station in Hebrew said that this is the first public warning that Israel has directed to Hamas during the current fighting cycle, despite its lack of participation in the round.
