IDF targets Gaza vehicle; 2 killed
Army strikes in Gaza: Air Force fires several missiles at vehicle apparently carrying Islamic Jihad members belonging to Qassam rocket launching cell; at least two Palestinians killed, one critically wounded. PM Sharon congratulates army chief, orders sustained pressure on terror groups
A third Palestinian sustained critical injuries and according to some reports succumbed to his wounds. Sources in the Strip said two passersby were also hurt in the strike.
Aftermath of Gaza strike (Photo: Reuters)
The army targeted the vehicle, carrying members of the Jihad's al-Quds Brigades, around 9:30 p.m. Monday. Palestinian sources identified those killed as Sa'id Abu Jidian and Akram Ghadash, Jidian's deputy.
Following the strike, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon phoned Army Chief Dan Halutz, congratulated him for the successful operation, and asked "not to let off from the terror activists in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria even for a moment."
During the conversation, Sharon asked that an emphasis be put on operation "Blue Skies" aimed at creating an "aerial siege" over Qassam rocket launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip.
Sharon's associates are currently concerned about a new terror wave originating in the Gaza Strip, after Palestinian groups said the lull in violence has ended. According to information presented to the prime minister, security forces are dealing with 10 specific Islamic Jihad terror warnings.
Qassam cell leader targeted
Security officials said Monday's strike targeted Jidian, 30, who led a Qassam cell and was also involved in planning other attacks. Jidian was held in an Israeli prison from February 1997 to October 2002 over his Islamic Jihad activity, the sources said. Upon his release, he continued his involvement in terror activity and became one of the Jihad's senior members in the northern Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, senior Jihad figure Khaled al-Batash vowed to avenge the IDF strike.
"This crime will not be ignored and the occupiers must prepare for responses from the Islamic Jihad's military wing," he said.
Earlier, a local Jihad commander, Abu al-Walid, confirmed the identity of the two killed Palestinians and said the latest strike would not put an end to the group's attacks.
"Those cowardly acts would not stop our resistance and the Jihad," he said.
Army: Senior Islamic Jihad member targeted
Meanwhile, the IDF Spokesperson's Office issued a statement following the strike, confirming the army was behind the targeted assassination.
"In an operation by the security forces this evening in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the Air Force struck at a vehicle carrying a senior member of the Islamic Jihad terror organization who is responsible for rocket fire at Israeli territories in recent weeks," the army's statement said.
Notably, the Islamic Jihad recently announced that it was no longer committed to the lull in violence, although in practice the organization never stopped its attacks on Israeli targets.
Recently, the IDF boosted its anti-terrorism operations and targeted killings of terror suspects in the wake of ongoing rocket attacks on Israeli targets.
Earlier on Monday it was revealed that Ramzi Salah, a 22-year-old Gaza Strip resident, planned to detonate himself with other suicide bombers at Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona or in other cities across the country, an indictment served Monday revealed.
Salah was captured about two weeks ago in possession of an explosive belt near an Israeli community in the western Negev. At the time of his arrest, he was apparently planning to carry out another attack.
Ali Waked, Hanan Greenberg, Ronny Sofer, Efrat Weiss, and AP contributed to the report
