GAZA CITY — Palestinians in Gaza claimed an Islamic Jihad activist was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the coastal strip, but Israel denied any operations in the area.
The circumstances of Wednesday’s incident were not immediately clear. Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said the man, Mohammed al-Ejlla, was killed in an Israeli attack. The AFP news agency quoted family and medical sources saying he had been “torn apart” in a drone attack.
But the Israeli military denied responsibility. “We did not strike in Gaza today,” an IDF spokesperson said, “and we are unaware of any incident involving tanks or other shooting.”
Al-Kidra said 33-year-old al-Ejlla was killed near the border with Israel. He said two teenagers were slightly injured in the incident.
Islamic Jihad confirmed that al-Ejlla was one of its fighters.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Flare-ups along the border have been relatively rare since Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers fought an eight-day battle in 2012. But violent incidents occasionally occur.
Terrorists have sometimes blown themselves up while preparing attacks in “work accidents.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
