IDF: Islamic Jihad homes legitimate targets, used to store weapons

The Israeli military is defending its attacks on private homes in the Gaza Strip during two days of fighting with Islamic Jihad fighters.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus tells reporters that Islamic Jihad commanders used their homes to store weapons, making them legitimate targets.

Eight members of a single family were killed in one airstrike. Conricus says he doesn’t have information on that incident but that terrorists used their families as human shields.

He says: “All of our operations were measured, proportionate and focused only on military assets belonging to the Islamic Jihad.”

Palestinian officials say 34 people were killed, including at least 18 members of the terror groups’ armed wings. Among the six children killed were a pair of 7-year-olds; three women were also among the dead.

— with agencies