ALBAWABA - A missile commander in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Strip on Thursday morning.
Ali Hassan Ghali, also known as Abu Muhammad, was killed at around 1:00 a.m. along with other two PIJ members in an attack on an apartment on the fifth floor of a building near Khan Younis, the Israeli army said.
"Ali Ghali … commander of the rocket launch unit … was assassinated in the south of the Gaza Strip along with other martyrs," according to Al Quds Brigades, the armed branch of the group.
However, the Israeli army reportedly said that "Ghali was a central figure in IJ, as well as responsible for the recent rocket barrages launched against Israel."
Following the death of the missile commander, the Islamic Jihad resumed its rocket attacks on Israel.
The martyr leader «Ali Hassan Ghali» Abu Muhammad. SQB Military Media.... pic.twitter.com/Xj3Vq6f99L
— Suat Kılıçtaş (@Suatklcts) May 11, 2023
The Israeli Defense Forces said that more than 500 rockets were fired from Gaza Strip toward Israel as tension intensify between the Israeli army and the Islamic Jihad since Tuesday. In response, Israel hit 130 militant targets in Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that "21 citizens were killed and 64 were injured as a result of the continuous Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip."
Clashes between Israel and PIJ started on Tuesday when Israel carried out its so-called "Operation Shield and Arrow."
