Gaza resistance pummels Israel, threatens to fight ‘for longest period of time’
Israeli warplanes have continued to bombard dozens of locations in the Gaza Strip, leaving several civilians dead
By
News Desk
– May 10 2023
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(Photo Credit: Sputnik)
Hundreds of Palestinian rockets continued to rain down on Israeli settlements and cities on 10 May, sending settlers fleeing for bomb shelters and causing significant damage to buildings in the settlements of Ashkelon and Sderot.
According to Israeli officials, at least 469 rockets have been fired so far from the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) resistance group. Reports from the besieged enclave claim the resistance has also fired several missiles.
Israel’s missile defense systems reportedly intercepted 153 of the rockets fired, while 107 fell inside Gaza.
In response, Israeli jets have been conducting airstrikes across Gaza, killing at least four Palestinians, bringing the death toll in two days of Israeli bombardment to 21 – including two Palestinians killed in the West Bank.
Several women and children are among the dead, and at least 64 Palestinians have been wounded.
The crossfire continued despite Egyptian media reports of a “ceasefire” earlier in the day.
As the situation escalated during the night, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with his US counterpart and expressed the army’s “readiness for every operational scenario, including a prolonged campaign and multi-front challenges.”
The rockets from Gaza began flying early on Wednesday in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of three PIJ commanders on Tuesday during an unprovoked attack that also killed several civilians.
“We have hit Islamic Jihad with the most significant blow it has ever suffered,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday about the brutal airstrikes, boasting that the PIJ commanders and their sleeping families were killed “in two seconds in the middle of the night.”
“The campaign is not over,” Netanyahu added.
Speaking to Al-Mayadeen, PIJ sources said that Israeli authorities “pushed through various mediations to beg for a cease-fire” in the wake of resistance attacks that reached all the way to Tel Aviv and occupied Jerusalem.
“The resistance adhered to its position of a clear commitment to stopping the assassinations,” the PIJ added, stressing their “readiness to fight for the longest period of time and to expand the circle of fire if necessary.”
Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera that the ceasefire talks failed after Israel refused to agree to stop the targeted assassinations.
Earlier in the day, other resistance factions joined the PIJ to release a statement saying, “Targeting civilian homes and assassinating our men and heroes is a red line that will be confronted with full force.”
“The resistance is ready for all options, and if the occupation persists with its aggression … dark days await it,” the statement provided to Al Jazeera continued.
Keywords
Gaza
Israel
Palestine
PIJ
rocket attacks
