Hamas again threatens to strike Tel Aviv after Israel kills Islamic Jihad commander
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the operation ‘could take some time. I hope it won't take long, but it's not immediate.’
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas threatened again on Monday to target the Israeli city of Tel Aviv with rockets after Israel’s military killed the top military commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Hamas launched barrages of rockets toward Tel Aviv during the past week following Israeli strikes on what the Palestinian group says are civilian residences in the Gaza Strip. Israel accuses Hamas operatives of using civilian properties to plan and conduct operations.
More than 150 rockets have been launched toward Tel Aviv since fighting between Palestinian factions and Israel broke out last Monday. Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip continues to be hit by Israeli bombardment.
Israel’s military killed top PIJ commander Hussam Abu Harbeed in an airstrike coordinated with Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today. Rockets landed in southern Israeli towns of Ashdod, Beersheba, Ashkelon and Kiryat Malachi in response to his killing, according to Israeli reports. Three people were injured when a house in Ashdod was struck.
