The Israeli occupation army announced on Tuesday that it had killed a senior military official of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. Bahaa Abu Al-Ata was killed in what was described as a complicated joint operation with the internal security agency Shin Bet.

Israeli warplanes have been targeting several places in #Gaza. The aggression started by assassinating senior Islamic Jihad leader Bahaa Abu al-Ata early at dawn,& continues to target civilin homes and property. 3 Palestinians have been killed & 18 injured so far.#GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/J0TYaA0rPF

— Maha Hussaini (@MahaGaza) November 12, 2019

The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that Abu Al-Ata and his wife Asmaa were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their house in the east of Gaza City. It also confirmed that their children Salim, Mohammed Layan and Fatima, as well as their neighbor Hanan Hellis, were wounded in the same attack. All are in a stable condition in hospital.

In its own statement on the murder of Abu Al-Ata, Islamic Jihad also announced that a member of its Political Bureau, Akram Al-Ajjouri, survived an Israeli attack on his house in Damascus, although his son and a number of bodyguards were killed.

The funeral of the martyr of the leading martyr in Al-Quds Brigades, "Bahaa Abu Al-Ata", who was martyred at dawn today in the Israeli shelling of his house in Al-Shojaeya east of Gaza.#GazaUnderAttack #غزة_تحت_القصف pic.twitter.com/A6iG7JWn9t

— مُحَمّدْ بِـنْ رَسّلآنْ 'ﮮ ?? #Gaza (@mohamedshnewra) November 12, 2019

The movement said:

“These terrorist crimes are a new aggression against the Palestinian people and the declaration of a new Israeli war on them. The Israeli occupation crossed all the red lines with its new crimes which shattered all efforts being made towards the truce and tranquillity.”

Other Palestinian factions, including Hamas, Fatah, and the Popular and Democratic Fronts, condemned the Israeli “aggression” and also blamed Israel for any escalation.

(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)