IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi holds a press conference following the killing of a senior Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, Nov. 12, 2019. (AP/Oded Balilty)
Israel says it has limited itself to attacking Islamic Jihad targets as long as Hamas does not get involved.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel has relayed a message to Hamas warning that if the terror group, which rules the Gaza Strip, gets involved in the current fighting between the IDF and Islamic Jihad, the Israeli military will “topple multi-story buildings in Gaza” in response, reports Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
Hamas has so far stayed out of the fighting which erupted Tuesday morning after Israel assassinated Baha Abu Al Ata, who it described as an Islamic Jihad terror mastermind, in what was said to be a precision airstrike on a Gaza City building.
The current round has differed from previous fighting between Gazan terror groups and Israel in that the Jewish State has traditionally charged that Hamas is responsible for all terror activity from the enclave. Hamas gained control of Gaza in a 2007 coup, ousting the Palestinian Authority two years after Israel withdrew all its civilians and military personnel in its disengagement.
However, since Tuesday morning, Israel has stated that it has limited itself to attacking Islamic Jihad targets as long as Hamas does not get involved.
On Wednesday morning, the IDF reported that some 220 rockets had already been fired from Gaza in just over 24 hours.
Israel says it responded by attacking Islamic Jihad members from the air as the terrorists prepared to launch more rockets.
Hamas reportedly fears, however, that if it does not get involved, it will be accused of abandoning a fellow Palestinian terror group.
Therefore, Israel responded with its threat, cautioning Hamas to stay out of the current conflict, or otherwise face the prospect of massive destruction.
Kan says that it bases its report on a Palestinian source.
Perhaps to fend off potential intra-Palestinian criticism, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Wednesday that “resistance” activity in Gaza was taking place in “complete” coordination and consultation among the various groups, implying that Hamas is involved.
He was interviewed on the Al-Aqsa network, a Hamas-linked news outlet.
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