News Digest — 5/10/23
Israel Launches Operation Shield And Arrow In Gaza With Strikes On PIJ Leaders
Israeli aircraft conducted strikes on Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday (9th), the Israeli military said. The PIJ group said three senior commanders and members of their families were killed in the attacks.
Witnesses said an explosion hit the top floor of an apartment building in Gaza City and a house in the southern city of Rafah. Airstrikes continued in the early hours, targeting 10 PIJ military training sites.
The Israeli army said the aerial bombings were directed at the residences of three senior commanders of the Iranian-backed group. It added that the three were responsible for recent rocket fire toward Israel. The bombings co-named “Operation Shield and Arrow,” targeted Khalil Bahtini, the PIJ commander for the northern Gaza Strip, Tareq Izzeldeen, the group’s intermediary between its Gaza and West Bank members, and Jahed Anam, the secretary of the Islamic Jihad military council.
Islamic Jihad, which is smaller than the dominant, ruling Hamas terrorist group, confirmed that the three were among the dead.
The airstrikes come as tension boils between Israel and terrorists in the Gaza Strip. The tension is linked to increasing violence in the West Bank, where Israel has been conducting near-daily raids for months to detain Palestinians suspected of planning or carrying out attacks on Israelis. In anticipation of Palestinian rocket attacks in response to the airstrikes, the Israeli military advised residents of communities within 25 miles of Gaza to stay close to designated bomb shelters. Last week, Gaza terrorists fired several salvos of rockets toward southern Israel, and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes following the death of a hunger-striking senior member of the PIJ in Israeli custody. The airstrikes are similar to the ones in 2022 in which Israel bombed places housing commanders of the PIJ group, setting off a three-day blitz that saw the group lose its two top commanders and dozens of terrorists.
On Tuesday evening (9th), IDF aircraft struck a Gaza rocket crew on its way to fire on Israel.
The airstrike, part of Operation Shield and Arrow, occurred near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.
Pictures and reports on social media indicated that the crew was struck while traveling in a car.
Photos of a destroyed car were posted on social media, including estimates that two Palestinian Islamic Jihad members of the crew were killed.
Reports are that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had issued instructions regarding the overnight airstrikes in Gaza on Tuesday (2nd) of last week.
“The IDF and Shin Bet have been ready for an operation with Gaza since Tuesday (2nd) last week,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, (9th) just hours after the IDF launched Operation Shield and Arrow.
“The IDF and Shin Bet carried out a precise and successful operation against the leadership of the Islamic Jihad organization in the Gaza Strip last night,” Gallant said in a meeting with council leaders and officials in southern Israel. “We will not tolerate shooting that threatens the residents of Israel, this is not only an act of terrorism, but a challenge to our very presence here.”
He continued, confirming that the IDF had been prepared for the operation for the last week, saying: “Already on Tuesday (2nd) I instructed the IDF and the Shin Bet to be ready to thwart the three terrorists who were killed last night, who are responsible for firing rockets into Israel and for directing numerous attacks in Israel.”
“We must be ready for any scenario, including a prolonged campaign and expanding the firing ranges. It is very important that the citizens under your leadership, be disciplined, attentive and listen to life-saving instructions. The IDF and the security forces are prepared by all means and on all fronts.” he concluded.
(israelhayom.com; jpost.com)
PM: Iran Trying To Set Up Ring Of Terror Around Us
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Tuesday (9th) at the Israel Security Conference organized by Israel Hayom and the Israel Defense and Security Forum just hours after Israel launched Operation Shield and Arrow in Gaza.
Netanyahu, whose comments were his first since the offensive began with pinpointed airstrikes against Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, said that Israel “will do everything it can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.” He added that this was a promise that he will uphold “so long as I am prime minister,” and added that “Israel must do everything it can to defend itself by itself against any threat.”
In his recorded message, he said that “our first and foremost problem is Iran – 95% of Israel’s security problems originate from the fanatic regime in Iran. The nuclear threat, the missile threat, and the terrorist ring and aggression Iran has tried to create around us.”
Netanyahu appeared to blame Iran for the recent tension with the Palestinians, saying that Israel was “doing all we can to stop Iran from establishing new terrorist fronts around us,” apparently referring to its influence on Gaza terrorists as well. He added that Israel is going to frustrate the Iranian effort “by military means so that Iran does not establish another Lebanon in Syria,” and said that “so far this has been a success,” possibly referring to the attacks attributed to Israel in Syria.
The PIJ is considered to be backed by Iran, and it recently fired more than 100 rockets toward Israel after a Palestinian Islamic Jihad hunger-striking prisoner died.
The prime minister stressed that he had instructed the defense establishment to “be prepared for dealing with a multi-theater campaign if needed,” and vowed that “if this arrives, we will have the upper hand.”
19 Years Later: Terrorist Who Murdered Pregnant Woman And 4 Daughters, Killed In Gaza Airstrikes
A terrorist who murdered a pregnant woman and her four children in a shooting attack 19 years ago was killed in the overnight airstrike in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning (9th), the victim’s husband and father said.
Tali Hatuel, who was eight months pregnant, was driving near her home at Gush Katif, in pre-disengagement Gaza, in May 2004, with her daughters ages two to eleven, when Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists targeted their car, spraying the vehicle with hundreds of rounds fired from machine guns – Hatuel, her unborn son, and all four of her children were killed.
Senior Islamic Jihad operative Jahed Anam, one of the terrorists who participated in the attack, evaded capture by Israeli authorities. After Israel withdrew from the coastal enclave in 2005, Anam rose to a position of prominence within the terror group. He served as the secretary of the Islamic Jihad’s military wing and helped coordinate the transfer of funds between the group and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
David Hatuel, the widower and father of the victims, praised the Tuesday morning (9th) airstrike that killed Anam along with other prominent Islamic Jihad terrorists.
“This sends a clear message to the murderers that people of Israel will always reach those who harm us,” he said. “As long as they hurt us, they will not have a safe place on Earth.”
He added that “In my name and in the name of my entire family, I thank God and the security forces for the elimination of those who were responsible for planning the murderous attack on my wife Tali and our four daughters – Hila, Hadar, Roni and Meirav – exactly 19 years ago.”
Since his family’s murder, Hatuel has remarried and has four children.
Cousins Ben and Aviel Hadad Killed in Tunisian Synagogue Attack
The two Jewish men shot and killed in a terrorist attack near a Tunisian synagogue Tuesday night (9th) have been identified as Ben and Aviel Hadad.
The cousins were killed when a terrorist opened fire outside the El Ghriba Synagogue on the island of Djerba, Tunisia. A third victim, identified as a security guard, was also killed. Ten others were wounded.
The terrorist opened fire during the traditional event commemorating Lag BaOmer, attended by thousands of local Jews and Israelis.
Aviel and Ben Hadad were in the parking lot at the time of the shooting. One of them held Israeli citizenship, and the other held foreign citizenship, most likely from France.
According to a report by AP, the terrorist was killed by security personnel who sought to prevent him from entering the synagogue.
Following the shooting, hundreds of worshipers inside the synagogue were locked inside the building. Only a few hours later, security forces began evacuating the worshipers from the premises.
(isnn.com; ap.com)
Iranian President Affirms Coordination With Palestinian Terrorist Groups
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad on May 4 during his trip to Syria. “The Palestinian leaders thanked Iran for its support to the resistance and the Palestinian cause.” said Palestinian official Khaled Abdul-Majid.
“Today more than ever, the unity and cohesion of the resistance forces, the region and the Islamic world is necessary to accelerate the defeat of the Zionist regime and the liberation of the holy Quds [Jerusalem],” Raisi said.
Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ (FDD) Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg said, “In case there was any doubt who’s calling the shots in this multi-front campaign against Israel, Raisi is pulling back the curtain on Iran’s orchestrating role. Simply describing Hamas or Islamic Jihad as ‘Palestinian’ organizations without prefacing them as ‘Iran-sponsored’ or ‘Iran-directed’ is outdated and misleading.” Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network, said, “It is clear that the mullahs of Iran are willing to fight this war to the last Palestinian.”
(fdd.org)
Dissecting The “Medical Apartheid” Myth – Akiva Van Koningsveld
An article published in Global Public Health, a peer-reviewed medical journal, falsely claims Israel upholds a “system of medical apartheid” in the West Bank and Gaza. The charge is easy to disprove with hard facts.
In the five decades following the 1967 Six-Day War, Palestinians have become healthier than ever, with life expectancy having jumped from 48 to 73.8 years. During that same period, the estimated infant mortality rate dropped from 150 to 17 per 1,000 live births. Palestinian cancer incidence and mortality rates are comparable or even lower than in some Western nations, including Israel.
Dr. David Stone, emeritus professor of pediatric epidemiology at the University of Glasgow, confirmed in a 2014 paper: “Israel has not damaged Palestinian health. In fact, the opposite is the case. Israeli policies were carefully formulated to improve health conditions in the WB/G [West Bank and Gaza] as rapidly as possible. These policies… brought about measurable improvements in Palestinian health and welfare.”
The Palestinian Authority has been responsible for the health sphere in the West Bank and Gaza for the past 29 years (since 1994). Israel is under no obligation to treat PA residents. Nevertheless, 100,000 Palestinians enter Israel for treatment every year.
