Gaza city: On Wednesday, Palestinian militants launched a large number of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip while Israel continued its airstrikes, which resulted in the deaths of 23 Palestinians, including three senior militants and at least 10 civilians.
Egypt, a frequent mediator between the parties, brokered a cease-fire, according to a state-run Egyptian TV station. However, as fighting grew more intense late on Wednesday, with neither side showing any signs of caving in, the truce efforts appeared to falter.
The Israeli military asserted that it targeted the Islamic Jihad rocket squad commander in an airstrike on a structure in the southern Gaza Strip early on Thursday. The military claimed that Ali Ghali was hiding in an apartment and that two other militants from the same group were also killed in the airstrike at a residential complex in Khan Younis that was built by Qatar. In recent months, Ghali directed and participated in rocket attacks against Israel. The militant organisation did not respond.
Also Read: In Germany two alleged Hezbollah members were detained
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel had dealt the militants a severe blow in a prime-time television speech. He did add, however, that "this round is not over."
"We address the terrorists and their sponsors. We see you all the time. You can't hide, and we pick the location and hour of our attack on you," he said, adding that Israel would also pick the time of calm.
Air-raid sirens were activated throughout the day in southern and central Israel, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) away, by rocket fire. Since Israel's first airstrikes early on Tuesday, the locals had been preparing for an assault.
The region was moving towards a full-fledged war as a result of the fiercest fighting between the sides in months. But in a sign that both sides were attempting to exercise restraint, Israel avoided attacking the militant Hamas faction in power and instead chose to concentrate its attacks on the more aggressive Islamic Jihad faction. Hamas, in contrast, appeared to take a back seat.
Since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, Israel and Hamas have engaged in four wars.
Late on Wednesday, the security-affiliated Extra News television station in Egypt claimed to have arranged a cease-fire. Frequently, Israeli and Palestinian militants are reconciled by Egyptian intelligence. Israeli government representatives confirmed that Egypt was working to broker a cease-fire.
They stated that Israel would assess the situation based on actions on the ground rather than declarations while speaking under the condition of anonymity to discuss undercover diplomacy.
Islamic Jihad declared that it would keep launching rockets. The Palestinians wanted an Israeli commitment to end targeted killing operations, such as the ones that killed three top Islamic Jihad commanders early Tuesday, according to Mohamad Al-Hindi, a group official.
Israeli TV stations showed air defence systems intercepting rockets over Tel Aviv as they streaked through the sky. People took cover by lying face-down on the ground in the nearby suburb of Ramat Gan.The David's Sling air defence system, according to the Israeli military, successfully intercepted a rocket for the first time.
The system was created in collaboration with the US and is part of a multi-layered air defence system that also includes the more well-known Iron Dome anti-rocket system. It is designed to intercept medium-range threats. According to Israeli media, an earlier attempt to use the system several years ago was unsuccessful.
Israeli police announced they would allow a Jewish ultranationalist parade to take place the following week, a decision that could further escalate tensions. The parade, which is intended to commemorate Israel's conquest of east Jerusalem and its Jewish holy sites, passes directly through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and frequently causes conflict with nearby Palestinians.
As of Wednesday evening, over 400 rockets, according to Israeli officials, had been launched. However, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that about one-quarter had been misfired and fell inside Gaza. They claimed that the majority were intercepted or fell in open areas. Israeli rescuers reported that four homes in southern Israel were damaged by rocket strikes, and three people were injured while attempting to find shelter.
Also Read: The Archbishop of Canterbury says the UK immigration bill is immoral
The army announced that until at least Friday, southern Israel's schools would be closed and large gatherings would be prohibited. Residents were advised to remain close to bomb shelters.
Eden Avramov, a 26-year-old resident of the Israeli town of Sderot in the south, said the past 24 hours have been terrifying. The waiting, the booms, and the alarms in this routine have traumatised all of us.
For the second day in a row, Israeli aircraft targeted Gaza, killing at least five Palestinians. According to the Israeli military, its warplanes attacked dozens of rocket launchers, storage facilities for weapons, and other targets throughout the enclave. Four of the dead, according to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, were militants.
Unknown circumstances led to the death of Layan Mdoukh, a 10-year-old Palestinian girl, in a blast at her home in Gaza City on Wednesday.
Three senior Islamic Jihad militants were killed in the initial Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday that sparked the exchange of fire, along with at least 10 civilians, the majority of whom were women and children. According to the Israeli military, its attacks were concentrated on the coastal enclave's infrastructure for Islamic Jihad militants.
Israel claims that the airstrikes are in response to a barrage of rocket fire that Islamic Jihad launched last week in retaliation for one of its members dying from a hunger strike while detained by Israeli authorities.
Israel claims it is attempting to keep fighting to Islamic Jihad and avoid hostilities with Hamas, the more potent militant organisation that governs Gaza.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the Israeli military, stated that "our actions are intended to prevent further escalation." "Israel has no desire to go to war." An umbrella group of Palestinian groups in Gaza, including Hamas, said in a statement that the "Avenging the Free" campaign against Israel involved launching hundreds of rockets in retaliation for Israel killing the three Islamic Jihad commanders as well as a number of civilians.
The factions declared that "the resistance is ready for all possibilities." "Dark days await (Israel) if it continues its aggression and arrogance."
It was still unknown if Hamas had entered the conflict. The likelihood of a full-fledged conflict would rise if the dominant militant group joined the battle.
The high civilian death toll Tuesday, which included the wives of two of the militant commanders, some of their kids, and a dentist who resided in one of the targeted buildings with his wife and son, has drawn criticism from around the world.
Due to the high civilian casualties in previous conflicts, rights organisations have accused Israel of committing war crimes. Israel claims it makes every effort to prevent civilian casualties and blames militant organisations for their operations in densely populated residential areas.
The military in the Israeli-occupied West Bank reported that during an army raid in the Palestinian town of Qabatiya in the northern West Bank, armed Palestinians opened fire on soldiers. The two men were killed when troops returned fire and took their weapons, according to the report.
The two men were later identified as members of Islamic Jihad. Since more than a year ago, Israel has been conducting almost daily military raids in the occupied West Bank to apprehend suspected Palestinian militants, including numerous members of Islamic Jihad.
Also Read: Joko Widodo: ASEAN peace plan for Myanmar hasn't made much progress
According to a count by the Associated Press, Israeli fire has killed at least 107 Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, with the majority of them being militants. Israelis have been the target of attacks by the Palestinians that have claimed at least 20 lives.
In the 1967 Middle East conflict, Israel seized control of the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians want all three areas for a potential independent state in the future.