The IDF launched a surprise attack on the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, assassinating three senior terrorists in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement in a series of airstrikes referred to as Operation Shield and Arrow.
The officials assassinated in the strikes include Khalil Bahitini, the commander of the al-Quds Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, Tareq Ezzaldin, a spokesperson for the movement who also manages terrorist activities in the West Bank and Gaza, and Jihad Ghanem, secretary of the movement’s military council.
Who is Khalil Bahitini?
Khalil Bahitini, commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)Bahitini served as the commander of the PIJ’s al-Quds Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip and was the most senior operational commander in the movement, according to the IDF.
The commander was responsible for rocket fire toward Israel in the past month and was planning further rocket fire in the near future, according to the IDF.
Who is Tareq Ezzaldin?
Tareq Ezzaldin, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who also manages terrorist activities in the West Bank and Gaza. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)Ezzaldin, a spokesperson for the PIJ, was responsible for the communications between the movement and its branches in the West Bank, for transferring funds and coordinating incitement efforts in Israeli territory. Ezzaldin was released from Israeli prison in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap.
Who is Jihad Ghanem?
Jihed Ghanem, secretary of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military council. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)Ghanem, secretary of the movement’s military council, was one of the most senior and veteran operatives in the movement and served at one point as the commander of the al-Quds Brigades in the southern Gaza Strip. In his latest position, Ghanem was responsible for coordinating the transfer of funds and weapons from the PIJ to Hamas.
The wives and some of the children of the three senior terrorists were killed in the strikes as well.
Islamic Jihad: The resistance will continue
The PIJ confirmed that the three senior officials were killed, along with their wives and some of their children, in the strikes, stressing “we affirm that the blood of the martyrs will increase our resolve, and we will not leave our positions, and the resistance will continue.”
Islamic Jihad spokesman Tariq Selmi warned that the Palestinian factions would “start from where the previous battles ended,” warning that “all scenarios and options are open to the resistance to respond to the crimes of the occupation.” Selmi added that “the resistance will avenge the martyr leaders.”
Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas movement, warned that Israel “made a mistake in its estimates and will pay the price for its crime,” adding that “the aggression targets all of our people, and the resistance is unified in confronting it.”
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem accused Israel of “escalating its aggression against the Gaza Strip,” stressing that “the resistance will continue to defend our people and their sanctities.”
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