The killing late Saturday of Khaled Mansour, who led Iran-backed Islamic Jihad’s operations in the southern Gaza Strip, came a day after another Israeli strike killed the militants’ commander in the north. Already, the fighting has killed at least 29 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry said, and seen hundreds of rockets fired at Israel in the worst violence between Israel and Palestinian militants since the end of the 11-day war in 2021. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the army would continue to strike targets in the Gaza Strip “in a precise and responsible manner in order to minimize damage to non-combatants. The operation will continue as long as necessary.” Meanwhile, tensions may escalate as Jews mark a holy day that will see ultranationalist Israeli lawmakers visit a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Such visits can be a frequent flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
Hundreds injured
Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades confirmed on Sunday that the airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed Mansour and two of his colleagues. Militants said the strike also killed civilians as it leveled several houses. The Israeli government also said its forces killed Mansour in the strike, which it described as a joint operation between the military and its intelligence services approved by the country’s political leaders. On Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry announced that 29 people had been killed in the fighting so far in the coastal strip, including six children and four women. It said at least 253 people have been injured. Israel estimates its airstrikes have killed about 15 militants. Palestinians search the ruins of a building where Khaled Mansour, a top Islamic Jihad fighter, was killed after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. (Yousef Masoud/The Associated Press) Islamic Jihad fighters continued to fire rockets into Israel and the Israeli military continued airstrikes in Gaza, although the exchange of fire appeared to have eased in the early hours of Sunday. Air raid sirens sounded in the Jerusalem area on Sunday for the first time since last year’s war between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, Jews marked Tisha B’av, a somber day of fasting that marks the destruction of the biblical temples and brings thousands to Jerusalem for prayer. By early morning, Israeli police said several hundred Jews had already climbed the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary. Police described the situation as calm as Jews prayed at the Western Wall, which is considered the holiest site where Jews can pray.
All night raids
In Palestinian cities and towns in the West Bank, Israeli security forces said they arrested around 19 people suspected of belonging to Islamic Jihad during overnight raids. Israeli forces said their troops suffered no injuries in the raids, which saw them use “riot dispersal methods” as Palestinians threw stones and improvised bombs, as well as firing at their forces. The fighting began with Israel killing a senior Islamic Jihad commander in a wave of raids on Friday that Israel said were aimed at preventing an imminent attack. Hamas, the largest militant group that rules Gaza, appeared to remain on the sidelines of the conflict for now, keeping its response limited. Israel and Hamas fought a war just a year ago, one of four major conflicts and several smaller battles over the past 15 years that have taken a staggering toll on the impoverished region’s two million Palestinians. Israel’s military said an errant rocket fired by Palestinian militants killed civilians, including children, late Saturday in the northern Gaza town of Jambaliya. The military said it investigated the incident and concluded “without doubt” that it was caused by mistaken fire by Islamic Jihad. There was no official Palestinian comment on the incident. A Palestinian doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the blast killed at least six people, including three children. Israeli airstrikes on Saturday killed a 75-year-old woman and wounded six others as they prepared to attend a wedding, Palestinian officials said. Airstrikes have also destroyed several houses in the Gaza Strip, some of which belong to members of Islamic Jihad. Gaza’s only power plant shut down at noon on Saturday due to a lack of fuel. Israel has kept crossing points to Gaza closed since Tuesday. With the new disruption, Gazans can use only four hours of electricity a day, increasing their reliance on private generators and deepening the region’s chronic electricity crisis amid the height of the summer heat.