Israeli planes hit Gaza terror cells twice overnight
Head of Salafi terror group linked to al-Qaeda reported killed by IAF strike

Israeli planes struck a rocket-launching cell in the Gaza strip after dawn Sunday morning, the second sortie over the territory within 24 hours, following a weekend that saw continuing rocket fire into Israel.
Palestinian media reported Sunday that Yasser Muhammad al-Atal, 24, was killed in the strike, which targeted a motorcycle east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza strip. One other man was reportedly injured.
According to media reports, al-Atal was an active member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist-leftist Palestinian terror group often politically opposed to Hamas.
Gazans fired two rockets into Israel overnight, both of which landed in open areas in the Eshkol area. No injuries or damage were reported.
On late Saturday night, Israel Air Force planes hit a terror cell in Jabalia in northern Gaza, killing Salafi terror chief Hisham Al-Sa’adani.
The strike targeted Islamic Jihad members who had reportedly planned to carry out an attack against Israelis during the Sukkot holiday. They were said to belong to the Mujahideen Shura Council, an armed group linked to al-Qaeda.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces said aircraft “targeted terror operatives” of a “Gaza-based global jihad affiliate” Saturday evening.
Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra said one man was killed and two others injured in the airstrike. Hamas said a security facility was hit, causing no injuries.
According to reports in the Israeli media, two of the men were riding a motorcycle at the time of the attack.
Overnight Friday, the IAF targeted terror activity sites in the Gaza Strip in response to the rocket fire on Netivot, in southern Israel.
A grad rocket fired from Gaza landed in southern Israel Friday evening. The missile landed in the town of Netivot in the yard of a house, near a Bnei Akiva religious youth center.
The attack came on the heels of a tumultuous week, in which Hamas announced it had improved its rocket-launching technology to include up to six rockets at a time, and after dozens of rockets were fired at Israel — more than 50 of them on Monday.