BICOM

Israel’s Air Force (IAF) yesterday launched a targeted strike against an Islamic Jihad operative in the Gaza Strip who is responsible for a number of rocket attacks on Israel.

It is estimated that 18 rockets have been fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into Israel in January, representing a sharp increase in rocket attacks following the relative quiet after Operation Pillar of Defence in November 2012. The latest rocket attacks include a missile which landed in the Sha’ar Hanegev region on Saturday night and a salvo of five rockets aimed at the Israeli city of Ashkelon last Thursday, which were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.

The target of yesterday morning’s IAF strike, Islamic Jihad operative Ahmed Sa’ad, was apparently responsible for Thursday’s barrage and several other rocket attacks. An IAF missile struck 22-year-old Sa’ad as he was travelling on a motorcycle. He was reportedly seriously injured and a 12-year-old boy also sustained moderate injuries.

An IDF spokesman said that Sa’ad specializes in rocket launching adding “We acted to remove an immediate threat to Israeli civilians.” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet yesterday, “We are determined to preserve the quiet in the South. We do this through a policy of prevention and by responding powerfully against those who try to harm or hurt us.” He warned that Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since violently overthrowing Fatah in 2007, should “take our policy into account.”

The strike against Sa’ad follows a steady trickle of Gaza rockets and several attacks on IDF border patrols over the past few weeks. However, it is the first pre-emptive IDF strike in Gaza for some time and has raised fears of increased tensions. As a precaution, the Ashdod Municipality this morning instructed around 4,000 children in the southern Israeli city to stay home from schools which do not have protected areas, double roofs or suitable stairwells to help protect against rocket attacks.