Israel Gaza Strikes Kill Top Militants, Many Civilians

At least 13 Palestinians, including three commanders of the militant group Islamic Jihad, have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian health official said six women and four children were among the dead. Another 20 people were injured.

Israel said it had launched an operation targeting militants who posed an imminent threat to its citizens.

Islamic Jihad has vowed revenge, and Gaza-based militants are expected to respond with rocket fire into Israel.

Correspondents say one significant factor will be the extent to which Hamas, which controls the Strip, joins in.

Israel officials are said to be preparing for days of fighting.

secretary of the al-Quds Brigades’ Military Council; Khalil Salah al-Bahtini, the commander of its Northern Region, and Tariq Muhammad Ezzedine, who it said was “one of the heads of military action” in the occupied West Bank.

“As we mourn our martyr leaders, along with their mujahideen wives and a number of their children, we affirm that the blood of the martyrs will increase our resolve,” the al-Quds Brigades said. “We will not leave our positions, and the resistance will continue, God willing.”

Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, said: “Any terrorist who harms Israeli citizens will be made to regret it.”

The Israel Defence Forces, IDF, said Bahtini was the senior operational officer of Islamic Jihad in Gaza and that he was responsible for the rocket fire from Gaza in the last month.

“He was an imminent threat to the security of Israeli civilians,” it added.

It added that Ghannam was a senior member of Islamic Jihad’s rocket force and that Ezzedine was in charge of coordination with the group’s operatives in the West Bank and planning attacks on Israeli civilians there.

The IDF said its aircraft also struck 10 sites used to manufacture weapons and six Islamic Jihad military facilities.

Spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht said the operation had “achieved what we wanted to achieve,” according to AFP news agency.

When asked about child casualties, he replied: “If there were some tragic deaths, we’ll look into it.”

He also said that residents of Israeli communities within 40km (25 miles) of Gaza had been advised to stay close to bomb shelters until Wednesday evening.

BBC/Shakirat Sadiq