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An Israeli airstrike has killed a second Palestinian militant commander in the Gaza Strip, fuelling fears that the three-day-old “pre-emptive” Israeli operation could escalate into all-out conflict.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirmed that Khaled Mansour, who led the Iran-backed group’s operations in the south of the blockaded territory, had been killed in bombing overnight. His death follows the targeting of Tayseer Jabari, who was killed on Friday at the outset of the surprise operation “Breaking Dawn”, the worst outbreak of violence between Israeli and Palestinian militants since a brief war last May.
“The blood of Commander Khaled Mansour will ignite the battle to defend Jerusalem and the blessed al-Aqsa mosque … Today will not pass until our people see what reassures them and satisfies their eyes,” the group said in a statement early on Sunday. Large numbers of Jewish visitors at the divided city’s sensitive al-Aqsa compound have further inflamed tensions.
A total of 31 Palestinians, among them six children, as well as members of Islamic Jihad, have now lost their lives in the bombing campaign, while 13 people have been treated in hospital for minor injuries as hundreds of retaliatory rockets were fired at southern Israel. Israel said a stray rocket fired by Islamic Jihad killed several children in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Saturday.
