Israel on Friday, Aug. 5, struck hard at the end of three days of inaction against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the lockdown imposed on locations around the enclave. In “Operation Sunrise,” air strikes were launched against Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Gaza positions. Israeli locations around the enclave were placed on “special status.” Civilians within a 80km radius from the Palestinian enclave, covering Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, were ordered to stay behind doors and in shelters in addition to thousands of residents who had been under lockdown for the past three days. Beersheba and Ashkelon municipalities have opened public shelters.
The first information released by the IDF on the operation reveals the deaths of Jihad’s northern Gaza commander Taysar Jaabari and 15 terrorists, some operating anti-tank rocket units.
Jihad spokesmen responded quickly with a statement: “The enemy has initiated a war against our people. It is the duty of everyone to defend themselves and our people. We will not permit the enemy to carry forward is policy to get rid of the resistance.”
