IDF on alert for attack on 1st anniversary of killing Islamic Jihad leader
Military deploys additional Iron Dome batteries to south, flights diverted away from Gaza amid concerns Palestinian terror group may attack
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
The Israel Defense Forces went on heightened alert Wednesday, sending additional air defenses to southern Israel, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the killing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata, out of concerns the terror group may mark the occasion with an attack.
In addition to more Iron Dome missile defense batteries deployed to the south, flights into and out of Israel appeared to have been directed to use Ben Gurion International Airport’s northern paths, keeping them farther from the Gaza Strip.
These changes in air traffic routes — visible with civilian flight path tracking software — is generally seen when there is active fighting or expectations of it. A spokesperson for the Israel Airports Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
The precautionary moves came a day before the anniversary of Abu al-Ata’s death on November 12, 2019, which sparked a fierce round of fighting known in the military as Operation Black Belt. This week also marks the anniversary of an IDF intelligence operation that went awry on November 11, 2018, leading to a large exchange of fire between Israel and terror groups in the Strip, as well as a major, week-long campaign against Hamas in November 2012, known as Operation Pillar of Defense.
תנועת המטוסים בנתב"ג שונתה הבוקר למסלולים "צפוניים" במסגרת העלאת כוננות ביטחונית לציון יום השנה לחיסולו של בכיר הג'יהאד האיסלמי בהאא אבו אל-עטא. כזכור, מפקד החטיבה הצפונית של ארגון הטרור, חוסל על ידי צה"ל לפני שנה, במסגרת מבצע "חגורה שחורה" ????????@ynetalerts pic.twitter.com/VHmm78RGPL
— איתי בלומנטל ???????? Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) November 11, 2020
Abu al-Ata was a prominent member of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, the commander of the Al-Quds Brigades’ units in the northern Gaza Strip, who the IDF believed was personally responsible for many attacks against Israel in the months before he was killed.
He was killed, along with his wife, in a precision strike on the apartment in which he was staying in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, following months of preparation by the military.
Palestinian terror groups have been known to carry out attacks on the anniversaries of such conflicts.
Though Israel is involved in ongoing talks with the Hamas terror group regarding a long-term ceasefire agreement, recent weeks have seen an uptick in violence emanating from Gaza.
Last week, a drone was flown from the Strip into Israeli airspace before it was brought down by the Israeli military. The week before saw a rocket attack from the Strip, aimed at the Israeli city of Ashkelon. One projectile was intercepted, the other landed in an open field.
Last month, the IDF also uncovered what it said was a Hamas attack tunnel dug from Gaza into Israel.
Israel has fought three large campaigns against terror groups in the Strip since Hamas took control of the area in 2007, along with dozens of smaller exchanges of fire.
The Times of Israel Community.