Israeli strikes against Islamic Jihad and counterstrikes continue

As Israels Operation Breaking Dawn entered its third day on Sunday with dozens of Palestinian Islamic Jihad PIJ targets hit so far in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Army to which Jihad responded by firing a barrage of rockets casualties remain relatively low and the big question is whether Hamas which is an organization much bigger and stronger than Jihad will join the fray and the situation will escalate into a warFollowing several days of tension on Israels border with Gaza Israels Defense Forces acting on Shin Bet security services information about imminent attacks by the Iranbacked Islamic Jihad launched a preemptive strike on Friday in which Taysir alJabari Jihads top leader in northern Gaza was killed An Israeli missile hit the Palestine Tower apartment building burying alJabari under the rubbleJihad reacted by firing more than 450 rockets at nearby Israeli towns the vast majority of which were intercepted by Israels Iron Dome Defense System so far Islamic Jihads rockets have not caused major casualties or damageLate on Saturday Islamic Jihad leader in Southern Gaza Khaled Mansour was killed in another Israeli air strike neutralizing as Oded Basiok head of Israels army operations directorate said the senior leadership of the military wing of the Islamic Jihad in GazaOn the Palestinian side the casualties as of Sunday afternoon according to the Health Ministry in Gaza were 31 Palestinians including six children and four women while another 260 people were injured The UN has also reported that at least 31 families have been left homelessOn the Israeli side there were no deaths from the rockets fired by the Islamic Jihad but several Israeli citizens were treated for injuries most of them minor Thousands of Israelis rushed to bomb shelters or sheltered in safe rooms to avoid the rockets Scores of fires broke out in areas where the rockets fellIsraeli aircraft and tanks targeted and destroyed five rocket launchers as well as six weapon production workshops several Islamic Jihad observation posts and tunnels dug by the militant group in order to launch attacks on IsraelFurthermore Israel has arrested 20 members of Islamic Jihad who were active outside of Gaza in Hebron Ramallah and other areas of the West BankIsmail Haniyeh the Hamas political chief blamed Israel for the current conflict and stressed that Israel bears full responsibility for the fighting It is notable however that he did not threaten retaliation against Israel and in telephone calls with Egyptian mediators he asked for their intervention to end hostilitiesThe UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territory Francesca Albanez has said Israels attacks on Gaza are not only illegal but irresponsible calling for a diplomatic solution to the crisisUndoubtedly the current strikes in Gaza and the rockets fired by Islamic Jihad against Israeli towns represent the first security crisis for Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid who took office just five weeks ago As Lapid has no military experience he is attacked by supporters of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli rightwingers as too soft and feebleIf the conflict does not escalate the damage remains limited and the fighting ends Lapids popularity will increase and will improve his chances in the forthcoming general elections in Israel next November On the contrary if the fighting continues for weeks he will be branded as an inexperienced civilian who should leave things to tested and experienced leaders such as NetanyahuThe Islamic Jihad organization is aligned with Hamas but often acts independently Both are regarded as terrorist organizations by the majority of Western countriesIn November 2019 following the assassination of Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Baha Abu alAta Jihad fired more than 400 rockets against Israeli towns near Gaza the majority of which were intercepted As Israel carried out several strikes against Gaza 34 Palestinians were killed Hamas did not join the conflict at that timeSo far Hamas the larger militant group that rules Gaza apart from a verbal condemnation of the Israeli strikes refrained from taking part in the hostilities The organization apparently wants to avoid a repetition of its 11day conflict with Israel in May 2021 that resulted in the loss of 250 Palestinian and 13 Israeli lives destroyed a large part of the infrastructure in Gaza and forced countless Israelis to rush to bomb sheltersHamas which rules the isolated Gaza has not been able to replace the infrastructure destroyed last year and as donations from oilrich Arab countries have almost entirely dried out most of the enclaves inhabitants live in abject poverty and at least half of its population is unemployedMoreover the electricity authority of Gaza has announced that the only power plant operating in the enclave would shut down at noon on Sunday due to a diesel shortage resulting from the closure of the crossings to the Strip over the past weekSo unless the death toll in the current conflict between PIJ and Israel rises to unacceptable levels Hamas will most probably refrain from striking IsraelHaaretz journalist Zvi Bar El points out that so far Israel has not damaged civilian infrastructure or Hamas bases and weapons manufacturing facilities It has not threatened to kill its leaders and it continues to convey messages through Egypt that the group is not on its list of targetsOne ray of hope appeared on Sunday afternoon as Al Jazeera reported that a ceasefire in Gaza is set to take place on Sunday at 1700 GMT according to Islamic Jihad sources and Egypts mediation teamThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever