Operation Shield and Arrow: IDF eliminates 2nd senior terror commander in a day

Abu-Deka “operated to advance, plan, and execute rocket fire attacks toward Israel,” the IDF said.

By World Israel News Staff and Agencies

The Israeli Defense Forces announced that it killed yet another senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander late Thursday afternoon – the second successful target in one day.

Sirens sounded in southern Israel in the wee Thursday morning hours after the army announced that it eliminated Ali Ghali, commander of PIJ’s rocket -launching force in Gaza. Two other PIJ operatives were killed as as well.

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

Ahmed Abu-Deka, the most recent PIJ terrorist killed, was a deputy to Ali Ghali, who was killed in an airstrike earlier in the day and was commander of the terror group’s rocket squads in Gaza.

Abu-Deka “operated to advance, plan, and execute rocket fire attacks toward Israel,” the IDF said. He was also a key player regarding large barrages of rockets fired during conflicts in August 2022 and May 2021.

He was the fifth prominent PIJ commander to be assassinated since Tuesday morning, when Israel launched Operation Shield and Arrow with the elimination of three senior terrorists.

As of 2:30 p.m., the Israeli military reported that Gaza terrorists had fired 547 rockets and mortars at Israel – reaching as far as Tel Aviv – since the start of the operation. There were no Israeli casualties, but some homes and vehicles were destroyed in the south and EMTs treated people for anxiety.