Netanyahu gives no respite to Islamic Jihad: "Israel will catch up with them"
This is the worst upsurge in violence in recent months. The Israeli army's so-called Operation Shield and Arrow, which has claimed the life of another Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commander in its latest operation in the Gaza Strip, continues unabated. "Ali Ghali was in charge of all routine activity in the group and played a central role in training and launching projectiles into Israel, including the recent attacks," the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed.
The Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, has already mourned Ghali, who was killed "in a treacherous Zionist assassination operation".
The operation comes hours after the Palestinian group fired more than 270 rockets in the direction of Israel. Sixty-two of these were intercepted by Iron Dome, Israel's overwhelmingly militarily superior air defence system. An attack that, in turn, was in response to the assassination of three Islamic Jihad leaders, Jalil Bahitini, Tareq Az Aldin and Jaded Ahnam, with a warning delivered: "Israel will pay the price for its aggression".
A ceasefire proposal ignored
Amid the exchange of fire and escalating tension, Egypt has proposed a ceasefire process that, for the moment, has little prospect. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address to the nation on Wednesday that the "campaign" against Islamic Jihad "is not over". His message was blunt.
"We say to the terrorists: we see you everywhere; you cannot hide and we choose where and when to strike you," he said bluntly. According to the Likud leader, with these latest attacks Israel has "dealt the heaviest blow in its history to the PIJ in Gaza". The Israeli government will not give in to the offensives.
Israel's plans point to a less diplomatic path than the one proposed in Cairo: "We are prepared for the possibility of expanding the campaign and striking hard blows against Gaza," Netanyahu said. "Israel's policy is clear and our message to the terrorists is also clear: they can run, they can hide, but in the end Israel will catch up with them", was the Prime Minister's promise for the coming days.
The only one who stood out from Netanyahu's words was Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who said that they are evaluating the ceasefire request. However, Israel's army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said that they are currently focused on "defence and attack".
Islamic Jihad will only agree to a ceasefire if Israel puts an end to the targeted assassination of its senior officers. Muhamad al-Hindi, a member of Islamic Jihad's Political Committee, also took the opportunity to claim the body of Jader Adhan, the group's former spokesman who died last week after 85 days on hunger strike. The seed of this wave of violence.
Hamas at the starting point
Since the start of the bombing, the Israeli army has blamed Islamic Jihad for all attacks from Gaza. However, the Hamas spokesman in the Palestinian territory, Abd al-Latif al-Qanou, has not ruled out participation: "The attacks by the unified resistance are part of the process of responding to the massacre committed by the Zionist occupation and are part of its defence of our Palestinian people. The resistance's response is obligatory and constant against any aggression", he said.
The escalation of tension is far from any negotiations, despite those already proposed by Egypt and the United Nations. The next exchanges of fire are a matter of time.