The IDF spokesman confirmed on Friday that the four days of travel restrictions in the Gaza Strip were intended to prepare for the elimination of a senior member of the Islamic Jihad. General Ran Kochav said that the IDF was waiting for intelligence on the location of Taysir al-Jaba’ri who replaced Bahaa Abu al-Ata who was killed with his wife on November 12, 2019.
Al-Jaba’ri was eliminated on Friday.
Apart from the warnings about a possible anti-tank fire at the Gaza envelope communities, the four lockdown days were intended to facilitate quiet preparations: “We received signed approvals for plans and waited for an operational opportunity,” General Kochav said.
Al-Jaba’ri, 50, lived in Shejaiya, one of the largest neighborhoods in Gaza, population 100,000. He has been a senior Islamic Jihad commander since 2007. He served as the head of Jihad’s operations department and coordinated operations with Hamas. He commanded the rocket fire into Israel in Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.
Before eliminating Al-Jaba’ri, the IDF attacked a series of terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip and eliminated 15 terrorists, some of whom were on their way to carrying out an anti-tank missile attack.
