Islamic Jihad: 121 of our fighters killed in Gaza
Group claims over 3,200 rockets and missiles fired at Israel in Operation Protective Edge
Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad said Friday that 121 fighters from its military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, were killed during Operation Protective Edge in fighting with IDF soldiers in Gaza.
In a statement to the Palestinian Ma’an news agency, the organization further claimed that it had fired over 3,250 Fajar and Buraq rockets and mortar shells throughout the 50-day operation. (Israel says a total of over 4,500 rockets were fired at it during the conflict.)
Islamic Jihad claimed to have fired at Netanya, Tel Aviv, Dimona, and Jerusalem. It also said it fired at IDF positions and vehicles.
Israel claims to have killed hundreds of Palestinian fighters from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other groups. According to Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry numbers, 2,143 Palestinians — over 70% of them civilians — were killed, including nearly 500 children. Israeli officials dispute these claims and assert that about 1,000 of the dead were active members of Hamas or other terror operatives. Hamas’s rocket arsenal was severely depleted during the operation and many — if not all — of its attack tunnels against Israel have been destroyed.
Seventy-one were killed on the Israeli side, including six civilians.
The outcome of the fighting remains unpredictable as an open-ended ceasefire has held up. For the moment, Israel has promised to open border crossings with Gaza to a degree, something it does intermittently anyway, and to increase access for Gaza fishermen. Hamas’s other demands are to be later discussed: an airport and seaport, prisoner releases, salaries for its thousands of civil servants and the opening of the Rafah crossing to Egypt. Israel will ask for demilitarizing Gaza.
On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conceded that he could not yet guarantee Israel’s military operation would ensure long-term quiet, but said that if Hamas resumes its fire, the IDF will strike back “sevenfold.”
AP contributed to this report.
