Israeli Airstrike Kills Senior Islamic Jihad Missile Commander

Jerusalem, 17 September, 2024 (TPS) -- The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Tuesday it killed the head of the Islamic Jihad’s Rocket and Missile Unit in the Rafah area in an airstrike on the previous day.

The IDF said Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash was an important source of knowledge of rocket fire within Islamic Jihad and was responsible for firing rockets from within humanitarian zones toward Israeli civilians.

“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue to systematically abuse civilian and humanitarian infrastructure to carry out terrorist activities and attacks on Israeli civilians,” the IDF said.

The military said aerial surveillance and precise munitions were employed to mitigate harm to civilians.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.