Israel Launches Airstrikes, Killing 10 and Injuring 75 Palestinians

Israel launched airstrikes on numerous sites in the Gaza Strip on Friday, 5 August, killing at least 10 people, including three children, Palestinian media reports.

At least 75 others were wounded when the airstrikes hit their homes in the east of Gaza City, and were immediately moved to hospital for medical treatment, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says. 

Israel’s Ministry of Defence said that the airstrikes targeted the Islamic Jihad militant group in response to a preminent threat following the arrest of another senior militant. IDF Spokesperson. Ran Kochav said that Israeli aircraft and tanks targeted and destroyed five rocket launchers and six weapon production workshops.

Kochav added that the military operation will last for a week, with no plans to hold any negotiations for a ceasefire at the moment.

The IDF also announced that 19 Islamic Jihad members were arrested overnight in the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a televised speech that “this government has a zero tolerance policy for any attempted attacks — of any kind — from Gaza towards Israeli territory.”

He added that Israel will not “shy away” from a broader conflict.

Lapid has been serving as the 14th prime minister of Israel since July 2022, and hopes to keep his position ahead of elections in November.

Israel imposed a full closure on Gaza earlier this week, which led to many Palestinians facing daily power outages that last several hours. Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of the largest hospital in Gaza, the Shifa hospital, said that hospitals may run out of supplies at any moment after five days.

Egyptian television program, Extra News, said on Friday that Egypt has been carrying out mediation talks between the two sides to prevent escalation in Gaza Strip and calm the situation.

Earlier in May, Palestinian news correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by gunfire while reporting for Al Jazeera during the Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. The United Nations Human Rights Office revealed that the shots came from Israeli forces.