The failed rocket nearly struck a news crew from the pro-Iranian Lebanese TV channel al-Mayadeen.
By Sharon Wrobel, The Algemeiner
A rocket launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from the Gaza Strip misfired and landed in the coastal enclave on Sunday, almost hitting a Palestinian news crew.
The failed rocket nearly struck a news crew from the pro-Iranian Lebanese TV channel al-Mayadeen.
Joe Truzman, a research analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, cited video of the errant rocket broadcast live on the channel, tweeting that it “can clearly be seen heading towards the crew before it strikes the ground inside Palestinian territory.”
About “20% of rockets fired from Gaza by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization have fallen in Gaza,” alleged Israel’s Foreign Ministry. “This is a double war crime.”
Since the start of the fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants on Friday, more than 585 rockets have been launched towards Israel from the Gaza Strip, out of which 470 crossed into Israel and 115 were misfired, landing in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
On Saturday, the Israeli army published separate footage purportedly showing a failed rocket launch by Islamic Jihad that killed several children in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip. The IDF distributed the video to counter allegations that the civilians were targeted by Israeli fire, insisting that the army did not conduct any operations in Jabaliya at the time of the incident.
Separately, the IDF disclosed on Sunday that last night’s killing of senior PIJ terrorist and Gaza Strip southern division commander Khaled Mansour was postponed several times to avoid harm to civilians, publishing a video that documents part of the operation.
“I saw children running in the trees,” an IDF soldier is heard saying in the footage. “They are running back and forth between the trees and the house, some are playing with a ball behind the house — call off the attack.”