Islamic Jihad says military response complete, signals for ceasefire

Terror group declares mission accomplished after over 80 rockets hit Israel's south in two days; Israel imposes host of fresh sanctions on Gaza
Ynet|
The Islamic Jihad's military wing has announced on Monday it has completed its military response to border clashes in the Gaza strip town of Khan Yunis and an attack on the terror group's personnel in Damascus, Syria.
  • Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter

  • "The al-Quds Brigades announces that it has finished its military response to the assassination crimes in Khan Younis and Damascus," read the statement. "It promises our people and nation that it will continue its struggle and that it will respond to any continued [aggression] by the occupation against our people and land."
    6 View gallery
    רקטות משוגרות מרצועת עזה לעבר ישראל
    רקטות משוגרות מרצועת עזה לעבר ישראל
    Rocket launch from the Gaza Strip
    (Photo: Reuters)
    The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said it had detected over 80 rocket launches from the coastal enclave fired at southern Israel during this two-day round of cross-border violence. The Iron Dome missile defense system has successfully intercepted about 90% of projectiles.
    The military has also ordered to close the Erez border crossing in the northern Strip, reduce the fishing zone off the Gaza coast to six nautical miles and completely halt the entry of merchants from Gaza into Israeli territory. Exceptional humanitarian cases will be examined accordingly.
    At present, the transfer of goods at the Kerem Shalom border crossing continues as usual.
    (A children's playground is hit in a rocket strike on Sderot (Video: Dvir Sasi))

    Six rockets were fired in the first wave that began at around noon. Iron Dome intercepted five rockets over Sderot and Kibbutz Nir Am.
    Less than half an hour later, sirens sounded in Netiv Ha'Asara and Hof Ashkelon regional council, and a second wave of eight rockets was fired from Gaza. Two of the rockets hit a children's playground and the yard of a home in Sderot.
    Two people were lightly injured while running to a bomb shelter, including a 55-year-old man who was evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon after he fell and sustained a facial injury. The hospital said the man's condition was stable and was undergoing examination.
    At least one person was treated for shock in Sderot.
    6 View gallery
    נפילה של רקטה בגן שעשועים בשדרות
    נפילה של רקטה בגן שעשועים בשדרות
    A children's playground is hit in a rocket strike on Sderot
    (Photo: Reuters)
    The IDF struck Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza in response.
    IDF Spokesperson's Unit said Israeli aircraft struck and eliminated a site used by the Islamic Jihad to launch rockets.
    The Prime Minister's Office said that Benjamin Netanyahu was conducting a security consultation by phone with defense officials following the rocket attacks. It said that Netanyahu also spoke with the mayors of Sderot and Ashkelon to update them on the situation.
    6 View gallery
    נפילה של רקטה בחצר בית
    נפילה של רקטה בחצר בית
    A rocket lands in the yard of a home in Sderot
    (Photo: Sderot Municipality)
    Netanyahu also threatened Gaza's Hamas rulers with a "war" on Monday afternoon if the new round of rocket fire continued, ramping up his rhetoric amid the final stretch of his campaign ahead of the March 2 elections.
    Speaking to Army Radio, Netanyahu said he'd conveyed a message to Hamas that if it did not stop Gaza militants behind the attacks, Israel would target Hamas directly.
    "If you don't shoot them, we will shoot you. I'm talking about a war," he said. "I only go to war as a last option but we have prepared something you can't even imagine."
    Netanyahu's interview was interrupted with news of fresh air raid sirens warning of incoming rockets, as Palestinian militant fire resumed midday after a morning lull.
    Defense Minister Naftali Bennett warned earlier Monday that Israel was on the cusp of action "to fundamentally change the situation in the Gaza Strip," the Times of Israel reported.
    “We are preparing a plan to fundamentally change the situation in the Gaza Strip,” Bennett told a conference in Jerusalem.
    “I really understand the situation of the people of the south," Bennett said. "They deserve peace and security.”
    6 View gallery
    יירוטים כיפת ברזל ירי רקטות מ עזה
    יירוטים כיפת ברזל ירי רקטות מ עזה
    Iron Dome missile defense system in operation over Sderot
    (Photo: Matanel David)
    Meanwhile, Netanyahu said that the proximity of next week's elections would not deter him from taking action to protect Israeli citizens.
    Netanyahu told Radio Jerusalem that he would "not compromise Israel’s security for political reasons."
    6 View gallery
    ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו בהערכת מצב בקריה ונפתלי בנט
    ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו בהערכת מצב בקריה ונפתלי בנט
    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Naftali Bennett attend a security meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday night
    (Photo: Defense Ministry)
    According to Netanyahu, “War is a last resort, but there may be no escape from it.
    “If Israel is in the position of entering a large-scale military operation, we will have to deal a bigger blow than [the three Gaza wars of the past 12 years]. It could very well be that we may have to carry out — I don’t really want to say it, but — ‘the mother of all operations.'”
    6 View gallery
    Iron Dome intercepts rockets from Gaza over Ashkelon
    Iron Dome intercepts rockets from Gaza over Ashkelon
    Iron Dome intercepts rockets from Gaza over Ashkelon on Sunday night
    (Photo: Reuters)
    The Monday rocket barrage came just hours after Israeli warplanes on Sunday night struck Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza and Syria, reportedly killing six people. Islamic Jihad threatened retaliation.
    The IAF airstrikes followed two waves of rocket attacks from Gaza on Sunday, which themselves came after the IDF killed at least one Palestinian trying to lay a bomb on Gaza's border fence with Israel.
    Comments
    The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.
    ""