Israel ‘at height of battle’ with Gaza militants – Netanyahu
Israel’s bombing campaign against Palestinian militants in Gaza is not over, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, denying reports about an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.
“The campaign is not yet over … We will get through this together and we will win together,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel was “at the height of the battle” against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a Gaza-based militant group.
Netanyahu’s statement came after Egyptian media reported that Cairo had managed to broker a ceasefire on Wednesday.
According to the IDF, nearly 470 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israeli cities as of Wednesday evening. It added that 153 rockets were intercepted by Israeli air defenses, while 107 fell in Gaza without reaching Israeli territory. The IDF said that its forces hit more than 130 targets in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Israel began striking what it said were sites linked to the militants, including weapons manufacturing plants and compounds. The goal of the raids dubbed ‘Operation Shield and Arrow’ was to take out three senior PIJ commanders responsible for past rocket attacks on Israel, the IDF said.
At least 13 people, including six women and four children were killed in Tuesday’s strikes, according to Palestinian Health Ministry.
