IDF kills commander of Islamic Jihad’s rocket-launching force

“Ghali was a central figure in Islamic Jihad, as well as responsible for the recent rocket barrages launched against Israel,” the IDF tweeted.

Ghali was killed in an IDF airstrike while he was hiding in an apartment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The two other Islamic Jihad terrorists killed in the strike had been hiding in the same apartment.

The killing of the senior Islamic Jihad terrorist marks the fourth prominent member of the group to be eliminated by the IDF in the latest round of fighting.

“While there have been no rocket alerts for several hours, I expect Islamic Jihad will retaliate for the targeted strike against Ali Ghali and other cadres belonging to the militant group,” Joe Truzman, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, tweeted.

As of 8:00 a.m. Thursday, the IDF has bombed 147 Islamic Jihad positions in Gaza and shot down 154 rockets since fighting broke out on Tuesday.

A further 110 rocket launches failed to clear the Gaza Strip, with 368 rockets crossing into Israeli territory.