Israel says Gaza offensive to last a week
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel said Saturday its military offensive in the Gaza Strip may extend over a week.
Army spokesman Ran Kochav said the military is preparing for week-long operations in the Palestinian territory.
More than 11 Palestinians have been killed and 80 others injured in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza since Friday.
Kochav claimed the Israeli army was working against the “Islamic Jihad rocket launching groups” in Gaza. He added that the Palestinian movement lacks organization and command making it difficult to understand the decision-making within the group.
The Israeli army claimed that more than 160 rockets were fired by Islamic Jihad group from Gaza into Israel and that 60 of them were intercepted.
The spokesman told Israeli Channel 12 that the Israeli response in Gaza was meant “not to drag the Hamas group into the ongoing conflict.”
Tension escalated across the Palestinian territories on Monday when Israeli forces detained Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, in a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The Israeli army imposed restrictions on the Gaza Strip, including the closure of border crossings with the Palestinian territory, amid fears of a retaliatory response from Islamic Jihad.
The Palestinian group said Friday its senior leader Tayseer al-Jabari was among those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.