Hamas Military Chief Killed in an Israeli Air Strike

Hamas military chief, Ahmed Jabali, was killed Wednesday afternoon, as he travelled by car through central Gaza City. He and at least one other senior Hamas figure was hit by an air strike. Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic group.  Jabali was 46 years old. Israel’s Shin Bet security service claims he had been responsible for “all terrorist activities against Israel from Gaza” in the last decade. He was responsible for financing and directing military operations and attacks against Israel. It is felt that his death is a message to Hamas officials that if they continue terrorizing Israel, they also will be hurt. However, Hamas spokesman Abu Zuhri said, “Israel will regret the moment they even thought of doing this.”

Hamas has fired more than 110 rockets from Gaza towards southern Israel just since this past Saturday. Over 83 rockets have been fired from Gaza since the assassination of Jabali. Israel will claim that because of continued attacks from Hamas, that they had to do something about it to get them to stop. On the other hand, the Palestinians will see it as igniting more unrest. There is fear that this activity could escalate into another war. Israel says, “All options are on the table. If necessary, the IDF is ready to initiate a ground operation in Gaza.”

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