A rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip on Saturday failed to reach its target in Israel and hit a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip, killing several children, Israeli military officials said.
Palestinian media have accused Israel of an attack near a mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza that killed seven people, including four children.
But IDF officials said there were no attacks in the area, further adding that the military’s rocket detection system clearly showed that the rocket launch was a misfire and eventually exploded inside the refugee camp.
“On our radar, we saw the launch and impact and could see it was them failing and hitting themselves,” a spokesman said.
Another official said: “We have video that proves beyond any doubt that this was not an Israeli attack. It has been unequivocally proven that this was a failed Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket launch.”
Israeli Channel 12 aired a video of the failed rocket launch.
BREAKING NEWS: A terrorist rocket from Gaza lands on fire in Jabalia (Gaza), killing 9 people, including children. Nevertheless, Islamic Jihad is blaming Israel! The IDF conducted an investigation and confirmed that there had been no IDF operations in the area in the hours leading up to the attack. pic.twitter.com/75PNAUkp4T
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) August 6, 2022
Keren Hajioff, spokesman for Prime Minister Yair Lapid, said, “The world should be outraged by this terrorist group that targets innocent Israelis and kills innocent Gazans.”
“Islamic Jihad is killing Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip. A quarter of the rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel — land in the Gaza Strip,” she noted. “Iranian proxies – including PIJ – have long been hiding behind civilians to target Israeli civilians.”
“Israel will continue to confront this vicious terrorist group that threatens Israelis and Palestinians,” Hajioff said.
Elad Tene, a public diplomat, said the incident constituted a “double war crime” for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad [PIJ] terrorist organization. “It fired at civilians and used Gaza civilians as human shields.
“This incident is an example of Islamic Jihad’s harm to the residents of Gaza. All harm done to innocent civilians is tragic.”
Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired more than 350 rockets into Israel in 24 hours. About 100 of them caught fire and fell in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said. The Iron Dome missile defense system successfully intercepted 95 percent of the 170 rockets fired at civilian centers. On Saturday, rocket sirens went off in several Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, forcing Israelis to run to the dugout.
The clashes began after the arrest of West Bank PIJ leader Bassam al-Sa’adi, which the terror group is trying to retaliate against by targeting Israeli targets near the Gaza border.
As part of Operation Dawn launched Friday, the Israeli Air Force carried out multiple attacks on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group in Gaza in response to what Israeli leaders say is a direct and specific threat to Israeli communities from the PIJ.
Israeli Prime Minister Yar Rapid said the latest operation, known as Operation Dawn, was aimed at “eliminating specific threats”.
“Israel will continue to act without hesitation to ensure the peace of its inhabitants,” he told a cabinet meeting Saturday night.
Earlier in the evening, Israeli media said the IDF had killed Khalid Mansour, the head of the PIJ’s military unit in the southern strip.
A day earlier, Israel had assassinated senior PIJ commander Tayseer al-Jabari, the mastermind behind hundreds of rocket attacks during the 11-day war last May.
Major General Od Bashuk, Director of the Israel Defense Forces Operations Directorate, Tell “All senior Islamic Jihad security officials,” a reporter said Saturday. [Gaza] The stripper was assassinated. “
