The IDF exposed the names of two citizens living in the Gaza Strip who enabled the Islamic Jihad terror organization to launch rockets at Israel from their private properties. Some of the launches fell short and killed Gazan citizens.
During Operation Breaking Dawn earlier this month, the Islamic Jihad terror organization fired some 1,100 rockets at Israel over the course of 55 hours. While about 990 of the rockets flew toward Israel, over 200 of them fell short and exploded inside the Strip, killing and injuring Gazans and causing significant damage, the result of poor handling and storage.
The IDF revealed on Tuesday that at least two of the failed launches were fired from the private lands of citizens who cooperated with the terrorist organization.
On August 7, the Islamic Jihad fired rockets, some of which failed to launch and exploded nearby, adjacent to a clinic in Jabaliya, killing two civilians.
The plot from which the launch was carried out belongs to the Gaza City municipality, headed by Yahya Sarraj.
“He chose to care of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization more than the residents of the city that he heads, and took advantage of the civil space belonging to the residents of the city in order to export terrorism – thus directly harming his citizens,” the IDF charged.
Another incident involved a failed launch from a plot of land owned by Bakr Hamadan Amran Shamalh, whose brother is a trainer in the Islamic Jihad’s Gaza Naval Brigade. Bakr allowed rocket launches from his plot, one of which failed to launch and hit a civilian building in Gaza City, an incident that was broadcast live on the Al-Mayadin news.
Shamalh’s family “took an active part in the operation of terrorism while allowing the shooting from their home and thus harming Gaza’s civilian space as well,” the IDF said.
“The terrorist organizations in Gaza cynically exploit the citizens of the Gaza Strip and launch rockets from civilian space, this is further proof of this,” the military added.
The majority of the rockets fired at Israel, about 95%, were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense batteries deployed across Israel. Dozens of Israeli were treated by emergency medical teams for light injuries incurred while running for shelter and for shock.
