Israel Air Force airplane F-16 D ‘Barak Cobra’prepares for take off. June 28 2010. Photo by Ofer Zidon/Flash90
On August 7, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had assassinated Khaled Mansour, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip.
Mansour was a member of the PIJ’s military council and the commander of its military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, in Gaza’s southern sector. The PIJ confirmed the death of the commander, vowing in a statement that his blood will “inflame the battle to defend Jerusalem and the holy mosque of al-Aqsa”.
The IDF released footage of the strike that claimed the life of Mansour, who was commanding his forces from the city of Rafah right on the border with Egypt.
Mansour was the second senior commander of the PIJ to be assassinated since the start of the IDF’s Operation Breaking Dawn in Gaza on August 5. In the very first minutes of the operation, the commander of the al-Quds Brigades in Gaza’s northern sector, Tayseer Jabari, was killed in a pinpoint strike.
Several lower-level commanders of the PIJ were also killed in the last two days, some of whom were responsible for rocket and anti-tank units in the al-Quds Brigade.
The IDF said that its most recent strikes on Gaza targeted rocket launch sites, mortar posts and tunnels of the al-Quds Brigades.
Israeli strikes on Gaza also resulted in many civilian casualties. According to the latest briefing by the Health Ministry in the enclave, 31 people, including six children and four women, have been killed since the start of Operation Breaking Dawn. More than 265 others were wounded.
Egypt is currently making efforts to broker a de-escalation agreement between Israeli and the PIJ. According to recent reports, the faction has already rejected a humanitarian ceasefire that was offered by Tel Aviv. Operation Breaking Dawn will likely go on for a few more days.
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