What happened: The IDF entered Jenin early this morning with the aim of arresting two wanted suspects.

• Israeli media reported that one of the suspects included Azzam Abu al-Hjja, the son of a senior Hamas official, Jamal Abu al-Hija, who is imprisoned in Israel.
• During the raid a massive exchange of fire took place between the forces and armed gunmen in the area.
• In addition, explosive devices were thrown at an IDF armoured vehicle, with unconfirmed reports suggesting five or six soldiers were wounded.
• In order to extricate the IDF troops a helicopter gunship was deployed targeting armed gunmen and allowing for evacuation of the injured troops.
• According to Palestinian sources, three Palestinians were killed, with over thirty wounded.

Context: Helicopter gunships have not been deployed in combat in the West Bank since the Second Intifada, over twenty years ago.

• It was not planned to be used in this morning’s operation, but was deemed a necessary response following the targeting of an IDF vehicles.
• Palestinian sources claimed that powerful IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were planted in the ground beforehand and were detonated as the Israeli forces were leaving the area.
• So far this year over 120 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority armed combatants.
• In parallel today, a delegation of senior Hamas officials, led by Ismail Haniyeh, are visiting Tehran and expected to meet with senior Iranian officials.

Wider regional threats: Speaking at yesterday’s weekly cabinet meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu once more highlighted that his government’s top priority is to “stop the nuclearisation of Iran.“

• Netanyahu reiterated that he has expressed his opposition to US officials that any agreement, “will only pave Iran’s way to a bomb and line its pockets with hundreds of billions of dollars.”
• Adding, “We have also told them that the most limited understandings, what are termed ‘mini-agreements’, do not, in our view, serve the goal and we are opposed to them as well. In any case, we have made it clear, and I reiterate, the State of Israel will do whatever it needs to, with its own means, to defend itself from Iranian aggression both in the nuclear sphere and, of course, through its use of terrorist proxies.”
• On Friday, Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant met with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin in Brussels. The meeting focused on improving military cooperation between the two countries.
• In the background the New York Times has been reporting that the US is looking to reach an unofficial and unwritten agreement with Iran. According to the understandings:
  • Iran will undertake not to enrich uranium beyond 60%.
  • Not to attack US assets in Syria or Iraq.
  • Not to sell ballistic missiles to Russia.
  • In return, the US will refrain from imposing stricter sanctions and will unfreeze Iranian assets worth billions of dollars.
  • The US also expects Iran to reinstate monitoring of Iranian nuclear sites.
• From Israel’s perspective any deal that does not dismantle Iran’s nuclear capacity leaves them as a potential threshold nuclear state.
• Israel is also concerned that if Iran receives the reported 20 billion dollars from their frozen assets, some of the money will go to Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Looking ahead: Operation Breakwater, launched two years, is likely to continue its regular incursions into the West Bank, in the absence of Palestinian Authority security forces’ ability to combat extremist elements.

• US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf will visit the region this week and is expected to meet Israeli, Palestinian Authority and Jordanian officials.
• Following the Gallant – Austin meeting, more joint miliary exercises between the IDF and US Central Command are expected to take place.
• Gallant and Austin also agreed to increase intelligence cooperation relating to Iran.

What happened: The IDF published findings from an investigation that followed the killing of three soldiers by an Egyptian policeman ten days ago.

• The IDF concluded that several contributing factors led to the attack: an easily opened small emergency gate on the border barrier which was unknown to troops stationed in the area; an over-prioritisation of drug smuggling incidents; and excessively lengthy guard shifts.
• IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said that the army “conducted an exhaustive and in-depth investigation,” and along “with quality work, initiative and successes” also found “operational and command faults and gaps.”
• The chief of the IDF’s Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, who probed the troops’ conduct said that “The special security passage was viewed by us as a hidden passage…” and “not updating the soldiers on this passage was a systemic failure.” He emphasised that this was a failure that lasted for several years, which unfortunately this incident brought to the fore.”
• While the army determined that it was essential to deploy soldiers in the region due to smuggling attempts and a large number of Israeli travellers, the report stated that splitting the soldiers into pairs, as well as the overly long duration of their defence missions – 12 hours – had to be considered and conducted differently. The IDF also said that no faults were found in the actions of the troops who had been killed.
• In its statement, the IDF noted that it would “refine the order of priorities established for the readiness for terror incidents and the readiness to deal with the frequent threat of smuggling in this area.”
• The IDF also determined that two commanders bore some responsibility. While Col. Ido Sa’ad, the commander of the Paran Brigade, acted correctly in engaging with and killing the Egyptian attacker, he was considered to “overall responsibility for the event and the manner by which operations are carried out in his area.” Sa’ad will thus be dismissed from his role and moved to another position within the IDF. Lt. Col. Ivan Kon, the commander of the Bardelas Battalion, will be formally reprimanded for his “responsibility for the implementation of the operating concept in his forces.”

Context: This is the first time in over 20 years that a brigade commander has been relieved of his post over an operational incident.

• The IDF report noted a series of operational errors and a failure to follow protocol.  The sense within the IDF is that improvements will be made to operational discipline and training for combat soldiers.
• Relative to other fronts, the 230km border with Egypt is considered relatively peaceful.  Israel and Egypt enjoy high level security cooperation, primarily focused on the shared threat of Islamist extremists, as well as coordination on their policy towards Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
• The incident on the 3rd June occurred when an Egyptian policeman entered Israeli territory through an emergency crossing in the border fence, subsequently killing Sergeant Lia Ben Nun and Staff Sgt. Ori Yitzhak Iluz. The last time anyone in the army heard from Ben Nun and Illouz was at 4:15 A.M. At 7:13 A.M., shots were heard in the area, yet the dead soldiers weren’t found until 9 A.M., by their platoon commander. Several hours later, during a firefight, the policemen also killed Staff Sgt. Ohad Dahan, before being shot dead himself.
• While few casualties have occurred along the Israel-Egypt border in recent years, the area is considered a key route for drug smugglers which the IDF actively tries to prevent and the incident took place after a large smuggling operation was thwarted not far from the site of the attack.
• Sinai-based terrorists carried out multiple attacks against Israel in 2011 and 2012. In one multi-staged attack in August 2011, six Israeli civilians, an IDF soldier, and a counter-terrorism police officer were killed, as well as five Egyptian soldiers.
• The Egyptian border is patrolled by the Bardelas and Caracal; mixed-gender light infantry battalions part of the IDF’s Border Defence Corps, in the Southern Command.

Looking ahead: The speedy conclusion of this investigation could set a precedent for future enquiries to be completed with similar efficiency.

• Maj. Gen. Nimrod Aloni, who is due to assume the position of head of the IDF’s Depth Corps and Military Colleges, will head a team that will investigate the “systemic” failures that contributed to the deadly attack. His team is due to “examine the operational and systemic perception of defence of peaceful borders.”

The Ceasefire

• An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) went into effect from 10.00pm last night.
• Rocket fire emanated from the Gaza Strip around an hour after, followed by Israeli strikes in response, but as of this morning the truce seems to be holding.
• Text of the ceasefire reads: “The two sides will abide by… an end to targeting civilians, house demolition, an end to targeting individuals immediately…”
• Israeli National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi “thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and expressed the appreciation of the State of Israel for Egypt’s intensive efforts to secure a ceasefire. The NSC Director made it clear that Israel’s acceptance of the Egyptian initiative means that ‘quiet will be met with quiet’, and that if Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do everything that it needs to in order to defend itself.”
• PIJ spokesman Dawoud Shehab, meanwhile, announced that the group “declare our acceptance of the Egyptian announcement and we will abide by it as long as the occupation (Israel) abides by it.”
• Meanwhile, in a televised press statement, PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah thanked Iran, Hezbollah, Qatar, and Egypt for their support during the conflict.
• Hamas, which although keen to avoid direct entanglement in the conflict has played a more collaborative role with PIJ then in previous recent campaigns, praised the “Palestinian Resistance Factions for defending the Palestinian people against the most recent Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.” Tellingly, it referenced explicitly the Joint Operations Room it operated alongside PIJ.
• PIJ, for its part, praised the solidarity of all wings of the Palestinian movement, but did not name Hamas.
• UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “I welcome the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and militant factions in Gaza, brokered by Egypt. The ceasefire must now be honoured to prevent the loss of further civilian life. The UK will support all efforts to promote dialogue and create a pathway towards sustainable peace.”
• News of the ceasefire was also welcomed by both White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland.

• Hamas has announced a full return to normal in the Gaza Strip, while Israel will gradually relax restrictions imposed on the strip today. The Erez crossing reopened at 8:00 and Kerem Shalom 11:00, enabling the return to work in Israel of the 18,000 Gazans in possession of work permits. Coastal waters have also been reopened.
• Domestically, closed Israeli roads have reopened this morning, though schools will remain shut today in Ashkelon and on the Gaza periphery.

Operation Shield and Arrow in summary

• According to IDF figures, some 1234 rockets were launched at Israel from Gaza during the last week.
  • 976 crossed over into Israel.
  • 221 landed in Gaza.
  • 373 were intercepted by Iron Dome.
• The rocket fire caused two civilian deaths in Israel:
  • 80-year-old Inga Avramyan was killed when the ceiling of her Rehovot apartment collapsed following a direct hit last Thursday. According to Avramyan’s grandson, she was killed trying to help her paralysed husband reach shelter.
  • A Gazan construction worker was killed yesterday when a rocket hit the border moshav of Shokeda where he was working. A fellow Palestinian construction worker and an Israeli Bedouin were also injured, the former seriously.

• Israel struck 371 terrorist targets, including targeted assassinations of senior PIJ leaders, PIJ command posts, rocket facilities, and attack tunnels.
• On Friday, a sixth senior PIJ leader was killed by a targeted Israeli strike. Iyad al-Hassani, PIJ’s director of operations, a veteran of the al-Quds Brigades, and a prominent figure in attacks on Israelis during the Second Intifada, died alongside his assistant in a strike on the Nasser neighbourhood of Gaza City.
• Al-Hassani is the latest and perhaps final senior PIJ figure to be killed in Operation Arrow and Shield, joining Jahed Ahnam (Military Council Secretary), Khalil Bahitini (Senior Operational Officer in Gaza), Tarek Az Aldin (Senior Operative and Coordinator of Terrorism in Gaza and the West Bank), Ali Ghassan Ghali (PIJ Rocket Unit Commander), and Ahmad Abu Deka (PIJ Rocket Unit Deputy Commander)
• Overall, 33 Palestinians have died during the fighting over the past week: 10 were civilians, most of whom were family members of the three senior PIJ figures killed in the operation’s opening stages.
• IDF data suggests that a further four civilians were killed by misfiring PIJ rockets, which also caused at least 23 injuries.
• According to Palestinian media, a child, Tamim Daud, died from a heart attack brought on by the fighting.

From the commentators

• Yossi Yehoshua in Yediot Ahronot: “If [the ceasefire holds] … one can say that Operation Shield and Arrow was one of the most successful IDF and GSS operations to have been carried out in the Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad was dealt a painful blow, possibly the most painful it has been dealt by Israel to date. It lost most of its top commanders in precision targeted killing operations that were carried out in the opening strike last week, and it continued to lose more top commanders amid the ongoing fighting. Islamic Jihad also found itself hard put to launch significant barrages of rocket fire on Israel that caused extensive damage… The way in which the operation ended can also be chalked up as a partial Israeli achievement. The IDF wanted to conclude this round of fighting as quickly as possible, as did the Israeli political leadership, and to capitalise on the fact that Egypt and Hamas were in favour of a ceasefire. Iran pressured Islamic Jihad into continuing the fight for as long as possible, and that pressure yielded results for five days—but not more than that. Islamic Jihad has emerged from this operation battered and bruised. Furthermore, taking a broader view of things, its patrons in Tehran also suffered a blow, one that arrived at a good time from Israel’s perspective given the Iranians recent brazenness.”

• Yoav Limor in Israel Hayom: “Israel would have run the risk of eroding [its] achievements as the operation ran longer. The number of high-quality targets would have grown smaller, and the chances of making a mistake would have risen (as would the chances of Islamic Jihad chalking up an operational success either by means of high trajectory rocket fire or anti-tank rocket fire at a chance target). With the passage of more time, Hamas also could have found itself painted into a corner. Currently, it enjoys the fact that Islamic Jihad’s capabilities have been eroded—namely, the group that poses a domestic challenge to it has been made weaker—but the closed border crossings and the subsequent fuel shortage and ongoing suspension of Gazans’ access to their jobs in Israel would have produced public pressure on it to solve the suffocating situation. To avert that, Hamas acted behind the scenes to advance a ceasefire agreement.”

• Amos Harel in Haaretz: “the key to a cease-fire wasn’t necessarily in Israel’s hands. It’s possible that Islamic Jihad learned from the previous round, which lasted three days in August of last year during Operation Breaking Dawn, and decided it was worthwhile to continue the clash for a bit longer. Even if it failed to cause multiple Israeli casualties, the fact that it was able to continue and hold out for a while in a confrontation with the IDF could be considered an achievement… What Islamic Jihad wasn’t able to do was to drag other organizations into the scuffle or to bring about clashes in other arenas around Israel. Hamas was comfortable, at least to a certain degree, that Islamic Jihad clashed with Israel and exacted a toll on it. Until Saturday, there weren’t any signs that the larger organisation intended to take an active part in the fighting. This could have happened, especially if many Palestinian civilians became casualties as the operation continued. There were no signs of a violent escalation in Jerusalem, the West Bank, near the borders of Lebanon and Syria or in areas near the Green Line.”

For yesterday’s BICOM News Update on Operation Shield and Arrow, click here

What Happened: A night of quiet followed a further day of mass rocket barrages on Israel from Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip.

• The day’s rocket fire ended at around 10.00pm last night, a last barrage fired at the Western Negev following some directed at the greater Tel Aviv area an hour or so earlier.
• Following Wednesday’s direct hits on homes in Sderot and Ashkelon, yesterday’s most damaging impact came in the central Israeli town of Rehovot, where an elderly civilian was killed, and 12 others suffered injury or shock when a rocket hit an apartment complex.
• Yesterday’s events bring the total this week, as of this morning, to 866 rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel.
• Of these, 672 crossed into Israeli territory, with 194 falling either in Gaza or the Mediterranean Sea.
• The Iron Dome defence system has intercepted 260 rockets whose trajectory showed a likely hit on populated areas, for a success rate of 91%. Its failure to intercept the crudely manufactured rocket which hit Rehovot has been blamed on a technical malfunction.

Israel continues targeting of PIJ figures

• Late Thursday and early Friday, Israel continued its targeted attacks on PIJ facilities and senior figures in Gaza in Operation Shield and Arrow.
• Following the killing of commander of PIJ rocket units Ali Ghassan Ghali in an apartment in Khan Yunis in the early hours of Thursday morning, his deputy, Ahmad Abu Deka, was killed in an airstrike in the southern Gaza town of Bani Suheila, near Khan Younis, yesterday afternoon.
• In a statement, the IDF stressed Abu Deka’s direct responsibility for recent rocket fire, particularly that targeted at Sderot, and also recalled his crucial involvement in civilian-targeting campaigns during Operation Guardian of the Walls and Operation Breaking Dawn.
• IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagarai confirmed that Abu Deka’s location had been known for two days before he was targeted, as the military waited for him to be separated from his family.
• Also on Thursday, the IDF struck a PIJ attack tunnel dug up to Israel’s security barrier with the Gaza Strip. The tunnel was, until August 2022, operated by senior PIJ figure Khaled Mansour, killed during Operation Breaking Dawn.
• Also on Thursday, the IDF struck PIJ rocket launchers, and a mortar launcher in Rafah, shortly after their use for the launching of attacks on Israel.
• Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel’s security chiefs held a security briefing Thursday night at the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Israeli media cited a message from the Prime Minister’s office that that Israel would “continue to exact a heavy price from Islamic Jihad for its aggression against Israel’s citizens.” 

Context: the death of the Israeli civilian in Rehovot is the first during Operation Shield and Arrow.

• Israel has struck 170 terrorist targets, killing 16 terrorists in the process.
• The IDF is following a similar strategic policy seen in last August’s Operation Breaking Dawn: striking at meticulously verified PIJ targets in Gaza whilst seeking to avoid an escalation with Hamas.
• Similarities are also evident with November 2019’s Operation Black Belt and May 2021’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, with Yediot Ahronot commentator Yossi Yehoshua this morning noting that the success of these previous operations can be seen in PIJ’s decreased steep-trajectory rocket capability this time.
• While Hamas is known to have provided cooperation and approval for the PIJ rocket campaign greater than that seen during Operation Breaking Dawn, Israel has continued a policy of distinction between the two terror groups.
• Hamas personnel and facilities have not been targeted, and the Gazan terrorist organisation is unlikely to seek to provoke a protracted escalation of hostilities with Israel at this time. As the Strip’s governing authority, it fears the economic impact of the isolation a longer conflict would impose on the enclave, while 18,000 Gazans rely on working in Israel, a right suspended during conflict.
• Israel has also sought to contain hostilities to the Gaza Strip, and not to allow spill over to the West Bank. In parallel with the Gazan front, therefore, Israel has in recent days arrested some 25 PIJ terrorist operatives in the West Bank. Among them are several associates of Tarek Az Aldin, PIJ’s terror coordinator for the West Bank, who was killed in a strike on Tuesday.
• There are concerns over Iron Dome’s ability to cope with so sustained a demand. Despite its impressive interception rate, the failure to intercept the rocket in Rehovot follows a similar technical malfunction last week which saw rockets hit in Sderot, wounding three foreign nationals.

Who is PIJ: Established in the Gaza Strip in the 1980s PIJ’s aim is the annihilation of the State of Israel by force and the imposition of Islamic law.

• As their aims conform to Iranian goals, they receive most of their funding from Tehran.
• When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, PIJ enjoyed almost complete freedom of action, and managed to grow in size to some 20,000 operatives.
• In addition to their Gazan operations, they have cells and infrastructure in the West Bank, particularly in the Jenin area, as seen with the arrests of the 25 operatives.
• Iran supplies the organisation with both financial support and weapons and training.
• Following the US killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani, then leader of PIJ Ramadan Shalah visited Iran to pledge allegiance.
• Among its senior operatives killed in strikes this week have been:

• • Jahed Ahnam – Military Council Secretary
  • Khalil Bahitini – Senior Operational Officer of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza
  • Tarek Az Aldin – Senior Operative and Coordinator of Terrorism in Gaza and the West Bank
  • Ali Ghassan Ghali – PIJ Rocket Unit Commander
  • Ahmad Abu Deka – PIJ Rocket Unit Deputy Commander

Prospects for a ceasefire: a night of quiet has increased optimism for the chances of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.

• Israeli reports overnight indicated that negotiations had been resumed and Egyptian mediators were said to be optimistic about the chances of achieving a truce.
• While some reports have suggested that PIJ is eager for a ceasefire, its previous modus operandi is to have inflicted greater civilian suffering before agreeing to a truce.
• Israel, meanwhile, is likely to want to have sufficiently degraded PIJ capabilities before agreeing to a ceasefire.

Top lines:

• After waiting 35 hours to respond to the targeting of three senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commanders, PIJ have fired over 500 rockets towards southern Israel in the last 24 hours.
• As of this morning of the 500+ rockets, 368 crossed into Israel, of those 150 were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile defence system while more than 100 fell short and landed inside the Gaza Strip.
• With the Iron Dome achieving 96 per cent success rate, no Israelis have been killed or seriously wounded. There were several direct hits on property in Sderot, Ashkelon and Netivot
• So far Hamas has approved and aided PIJ (including the operation of a join war room) but have not taken an active role in firing rockets, therefore the IDF has stuck to targeting PIJ assets.
• The IDF responded by attacking 158 PIJ targets inside the Gaza Strip including launch sites and launchers, rocket manufacturing facilities and other military targets
• In the early hours the Israeli Air Force targeted a fourth senior PIJ commander Ali Ghassan Ghali. He was the commander of their rocket units and was killed while hiding in an apartment in Khan Yunis. Two other PIJ operatives were killed alongside him.
• In an operational first, a missile directed at Tel Aviv was successfully intercepted by the David’s Sling system.  This system is the second rung of Israel’s multiple layered defence between the Iron Dome and the Arrow system.
• According to Palestinian sources 25 Gazans have been killed, of those four were senior PIJ commanders, and at least a further 6 PIJ combatants. Four others were armed combatants affiliated with the PFLP and involved in firing rockets.  There were 10 non-combatants killed in the initial surprise strike (see below). Another Gazan died from what appeared to be a PIJ rocket failing to cross the border.

Talk of ceasefire:

• The indirect talks are once again being led by Egypt.
• Yesterday there was already speculation that PIJ was ready for a ceasefire.
• However others cautioned that they would not stop without inflicting more serious damage.
• Reports suggest that Israel would not commit to terms restricting them from carrying out more targeted assassinations in the future.
• IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said that the IDF would not address a ceasefire until it went into effect. He said that the Home Front Command’s guidelines for communities in 40kn range would remain in effect at least until tomorrow.
• Egyptian officials conveyed messages to Israel that PIJ did not want to escalate the fighting and that the current round of violence could be ended within a matter of hours.

Leaders’ comments:

• Prime Minister Netanyahu said last night in a public statement that the development of advanced intelligence and operational capabilities has made it possible for Israel to attack the leaders of the terror organisations at any given moment.
• Netanyahu said: “Our message to the terrorist leaders is clear: a new equation has been created. We see you wherever you are, and you can’t hide. We will choose where and when to attack you.”
• The UK’s Minister for the Middle East, Lord Tariq Ahmad said: “All countries, including Israel have a legitimate right to self-defence”, adding: ”where there is evidence of excessive force we advocate for swift and transparent investigations”, before stressing that along with foreign secretary James Cleverly, “want to see a de-escalation and a willingness for dialogue from all sides.”

Key indicators to look out for:

• If Hamas decide to join fray, this could extend the fighting.
• Without inflicting harm (fatalities) PIJ do not want to stop.
• Israel hopes to keep the focus on the Gaza Strip, whist PIJ (and Hamas) may try to extend the remit to the West Bank and Jerusalem, possibly even among Israeli Arabs and rocket fire from Lebanon.

From the Commentators:

In Yediot Ahronot, Avi Issacharoff comments that “it hardly came as a surprise that Hamas decided not to join the fighting against Israel and left Islamic Jihad to wallow on its own in its blood and rockets in yet another limited battle against the Zionist enemy…. It is almost a win-win situation: Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets yesterday at Israel with Hamas’s permission and encouragement via what is dubbed their “joint operations room.” Hamas was thus able to partially pay lip service and to prevent it from being cast as a collaborator or a traitor, which is what would have happened had it clashed directly with Islamic Jihad and stopped it from firing at Israel. At the same time, the IDF, Shin Bet and the entire State of Israel focused in the last few days on one enemy only, an enemy that is Hamas’s political rival—Islamic Jihad. In other words, Israel is weakening an organization that challenges the ruling organization in the Gaza Strip and is in competition with it. Israel on the one side and Islamic Jihad on the other fought one another while Hamas remained unscathed and out of the fray, even though it had permitted—and not by merely looking the other way—rocket fire at Israel. Nevertheless, Hamas will pay a certain price for its decision to abstain from fighting. Hamas’s image as a “resistance” movement has been somewhat eroded. The majority of the Palestinian public recognizes that Hamas would prefer quiet in Gaza over another round of fighting that would produce nothing….The strike on Islamic Jihad’s leaders, without the operation devolving into full-scale war, will be viewed by the majority of the Israeli public as an Israeli victory, and rightfully so. The only side that will emerge defeated and humiliated, if the fighting ends now, will be Islamic Jihad.”

In Haaretz, Amos Harel writes, “the lack of any real casualties has provided Israel with an opportunity to end this round of fighting on a high note. Because the Palestinians haven’t succeeded in inflicting any real damage so far, they probably won’t agree to a speedy ceasefire…The Palestinian organizations adopted their own version of “We’ll respond when and where we see fit,” the famous promise of Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir after Iraqi Scud missiles landed in central Israel during the First Gulf War in 1991. By mistake, the Palestinians discovered a kind of: How to make the Israelis anxious without pulling the trigger…. Clearly, if Palestinian casualties continue to rise and Israel’s bombing campaign is prolonged, Hamas could be pushed to participate in the rocket onslaught itself. The bottom line is that Israel’s strategy has remained more or less the same since the end of Operation Guardian of the Walls, which began exactly two years ago. Despite the many changes in government, it has remained almost unchanged: Israel prefers to clash with Islamic Jihad rather than to confront Hamas directly. To ensure that the larger and more dangerous organization remains relatively quiet, Israel is willing to ignore the times when it contributes to the fighting in a limited way, enables the entry of Qatari money to the Gaza Strip (about $30 million a month), and permits 17,000 laborers from Gaza to enter Israel, bringing in almost another $40 million into the Strip).”

In Israel Hayom, Yoav Limor comments that “a quick review of Operation Shield and Arrow yields three immediate conclusions. The first is that Islamic Jihad was dealt a serious blow once again with the assassination of its top officials and the damage to its operational and arms production capabilities. The second is that Islamic Jihad failed to exact a price from Israel either in the Gaza periphery or by means of rocket fire deep into Israeli territory. The third is that Hamas stayed out of the fighting and effectively prevented it from expanding further, leaving Islamic Jihad to cope on its own with the repercussions of the bonfire that it lit, and allowed for the current round of fighting to be concluded relatively quickly. That organization [PIJ] tried to create linkage between Judea and Samaria and Gaza, translating every death in the West Bank into immediate revenge rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Israel has made it clear to Islamic Jihad the price that it will pay for trying to do that…By the bye, Israel exhausted its bank of Islamic Jihad targets in terms of senior operatives who can be marked for assassination and other objectives (ranging from arms production sites to launching pits), while executing precise attacks and refraining from killing either Hamas operatives or civilians (except in the opening strike), so as not to draw the largest organization in the Gaza Strip into a fight that was liable then to escalate… Hamas does not want to join the war at present or, more accurately, it does not want Islamic Jihad to draw it into fighting a war. Hamas will fight (if at all) for its own reasons, and at a timing that works for it.”

Recap:  

• Israel felt it had unfinished business, most recently on May 2^nd when over 100 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel.
• On May 9 At 02:00, three simultaneous strikes; two in Gaza City, the third in the Rafah on the Egyptian border.
• Two bombs hit the fifth and sixth floors of a six-story building in the Ramal neighbourhood of Gaza City. On the sixth floor, Dr. Jamal Khaswan, 52, his wife Mirfat, 44, and their son Yusef, 18, were killed. On the fifth floor, senior Islamic Jihad leader Tarek Izz a-Din, 51, and his two children, Ali, 5, and Mayar, 7, were killed.
• At the same time, Israeli warplanes dropped two bombs on a two-story building in the a-Shaaf neighbourhood in Gaza City (the home of the al-Bahatini family), resulting in the deaths of Khalil al-Bahtini, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad, 44, his wife Lila al-Bahatini, 42, and their daughter Hajar, 4. Also killed in this attack were 19-year-old Dania Ades and her 17-year-old sister Iman, who lived the adjacent apartment.
• At the same time, the house of the al-Ghanam family in the Janina neighborhood of Rafah was attacked with three GBU39 type bombs, which caused the death of the senior Islamic Jihad leader Jihad al-Ghanam, 62, and his wife Wafa al-Ghanam, also 62 years old. In this attack, six others were injured, including al-Ghanam’s son.

The three commanders killed:

Khalil Bahitini – Senior Operational Officer of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza

• Responsible for the rocket fire towards Israel from Gaza last month.
• Responsible for approving and carrying out terrorist actions from Northern Gaza into Israel.
• Member of the PIJ’s military council in Gaza and in direct contact with the PIJ’s political bureau.

Tarek Az Aldin – Senior Operative and Coordinator of Terrorism in Gaza and the West Bank

• In charge of the coordination between Islamic Jihad in Gaza and Islamic Jihad in the West Bank.
• Arranged money transfers for planning and carrying out terrorist acts and coordinated terrorist acts on Israeli civilians.
• Was planning and coordinating multiple future attacks on Israeli civilians.

Jahed Ahnam – Military Council Secretary

• One of the most senior members of the PIJ.
• Previously served as Commanding Officer of Islamic Jihad’s Southern Gaza division and Head of the Military Council.
• Coordinated weapons and money transfers between the PIJ and Hamas .
• Worked largely in promoting destructive terrorism in Gaza, the West Bank and around the world.