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Israel kills Palestinian militant commander Israel kills Palestinian militant leader behind Gilad Shalit kidnapping
(40 minutes later)
An Israeli air strike has killed a top Palestinian militant commander and a second militant in Gaza in the highest-profile attack in the terrority in months. An Israeli air strike has killed the commander of the militant group behind the abduction of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and a second militant in Gaza in the highest-profile attack against the coastal strip in months.
The Israeli military confirmed Friday's strike, saying the killed commander, Zuhair al-Qaissi, was plotting an attack on Israel similar to one his group carried out in August that killed eight people. In a statement, the Israeli military warned Gaza's Hamas rulers against any retaliation. The Israeli military confirmed Friday's strike, saying the slain commander, Zuhair al-Qaissi, was plotting an infiltration attack into Israel similar to one his group carried out in August that killed eight people and injured 40 more. In a statement, the military warned Gaza's Hamas rulers against any retaliation for the strike.
Palestinian witnesses said Israeli drones were seen hovering above moments before a vehicle exploded into flames just outside of Gaza City. Hours later, two more militants were killed in an Israeli air strike east of Gaza City, said the Gaza health ministry official Adham Abu Salmiya. Israel confirmed the attack, saying the two were preparing a rocket attack toward Israel.
Qaissi was the top commander of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, a large militant group aligned with Hamas. The group's spokesman confirmed his death as well as identifying another casualty, Mahmoud Hanini, who had previously been deported to Gaza after being released from an Israeli prison. Another peron was seriously wounded in the attack. His identity remains unclear. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli drones were seen hovering above just moments before Qaissi's vehicle exploded into flames in a southern district of Gaza City.
"The coward Zionists have committed an ugly crime and they know the price that they are going to pay," said the spokesman, who goes by the pseudonym Abu Mujahid. Qaissi was the top commander of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, a large militant group aligned with Hamas that was behind the 2006 abduction of Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was held in Gaza for more than five years until he was freed in a prisoner swap last year.
Israel often targets Gaza militants it says are preparing attacks, but relations have been relatively calm in recent months, with Israel mostly targeting smuggling tunnels from Egypt and refraining from targeting individuals. Qaissi, 55, is also known as Abu Ibrahim. The militant group's spokesman confirmed Qaissi's death. He identified the second casualty as Mahmoud Hanini, who hails from the West Bank and was released from an Israeli prison five years ago and deported to Gaza.
The Israeli military said that Qaissi was also in charge of transferring funds from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to other militant groups in Gaza. "The coward Zionists have committed an ugly crime, and they know the price that they are going to pay," said the spokesman, who goes by the pseudonym Abu Mujahid.
He suggested retaliation could be on the way. Such strikes often lead to return rocket strikes from Gaza into Israel.
"We call on our fighters to respond to the Zionist enemy with all our strength," he said. "We shall avenge our leader and the response, God willing, will be equal to the size of the heinous crime."
The Israeli military insisted it did not want an escalation but said it was "prepared to defend the residents of Israel."
It charged that Hamas was using other groups to carry out attacks and it "will bear the consequences of these actions" if an escalation took place.
Israel often targets Gaza militants it says are preparing attacks, but tensions have been relatively calm in recent months with Israel mostly targeting smuggling tunnels from Egypt and refraining from targeting individuals. Qaissi, who is also known as Abu Ibrahim, is the highest-profile casualty in Gaza in months.
Another Gazan was seriously wounded in the attack. His identity remains unclear.
The Israeli military said Qaissi was behind several deadly attacks against Israel, including rocket fire, and he was also in charge of transferring funds from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to other militant groups in Gaza.