The majority of Gazans killed in this month’s clash between Israeli forces and Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip were terrorists, the Israeli-based Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) found after an in-depth inquiry into the identities of the Gazan fatalities in the latest major exchange of fire.
According to the center, which focuses its work on Palestinian and Lebanese terrorist organizations, and organizations affiliated with global jihad, 34 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza.
According to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) information, targets struck included rocket-launching squads and sites, weapons depots, training facilities, rocket manufacturing sites, operational and observational posts, and Islamic Jihad underground facilities.
Of the 34 killed, 22 were confirmed members of terrorist groups or closely affiliated with them.
The majority of fatalities, 13, were suffered by the Islamic Jihad, responsible for the barrage of rocket fire on southern and central Israel this week. The number includes senior Islamic Jihad commander Bahaa Abu al-Ata, whom the IDF killed in a surgical airstrike. It was al-Ata’s death that triggered Islamic Jihad’s rocket fire on Israel.
Additional terrorists killed in strikes by the IDF were members of Hamas (1 military wing, 1 affiliated), Fatah (2 affiliated), Popular Resistance Committees (2 military wing), and Fatah splinter groups (3 military wing).
Nine civilians were killed in the escalation. One of the dead was Abu al-Ata’s wife, who was in the room he was targeted in. Seven members of one family were killed in an IDF attack on their home in Deir al-Balah. The cause of this attack is believed to be mistaken identity or faulty intelligence and is currently being investigated by the IDF. A seven-year-old boy was also killed.
Three fatalities could not be identified. As such, it has not been possible to determine whether these people were terrorists or civilians.