Palestinians Say Civilians Among Dead as IDF Strikes Islamic Jihad in Gaza

At least 13 people, including four children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza on Tuesday, May 9, Palestinian health officials said.

Another 20 people, including three children, were injured, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had yet to respond to reports of civilian casualties. They said they were striking Islamic Jihad targets as part of Operation Shield and Arrow.

The IDF said it targeted senior members of Islamic Jihad Khalil Bahtini, Jehad Ghanam, and Tareq Izzeldeen. It said the strikes were carried out “in response to the imminent threat to the security of Israeli civilians posed by Islamic Jihad.”

Less than an hour after announcing the start of the strikes, the IDF tweeted that it was “instructing civilians in the area surrounding Gaza to remain in the vicinity of a designated shelter until Wednesday.”

The targets of the operation were “sites for the production of weapons […] as well as a site that was also used for the production of concrete components that were used to build terror tunnels […] six military compounds of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad […] a military position of the terrorist organization in the south of the Gaza Strip,” according to the IDF.

According to WAFA, the strikes targeted homes and residential buildings, resulting in the deaths of Bahtini, Ghanam, Izzeldeen, and “members of their households, including children and women.” Credit: IDF via Storyful

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