Jerusalem under fire: Gaza militants fire 400+ missiles in retaliation for Israeli strike

Militants in the Gaza Strip have reportedly fired over 449 missiles since an Israeli military airstrike killed at least 15 people, including the leader of a Palestinian militant group, and injured at least 140 there on Friday evening.

There is no end in sight to the fighting between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militants, reports The Washington Post.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said its first strikes targeted militants belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza. Dubbed “Breaking Dawn,” the operation is set to last at least a week, according to the Israeli military.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said at least 10 people were killed and 75 injured in the two initial strikes, including a 5-year-old girl. Another casualty was Taysir al-Jabari, a top Islamic Jihad leader, according to a PIJ statement.

An anonymous Israeli official told The Washington Post that the military was aware of and investigating the child’s death, adding that strikes were carefully planned to avoid harming bystanders but that the militants make perfect accuracy impossible by embedding themselves and their weapons within the civilian population.

The Israeli strikes prompted a massive rocket attack into central and southern Israel. The IDF said its Iron Dome air-defense network had intercepted about 95 percent of the rockets, reports The Washington Post.

Tensions had been high since Israel arrested a PIJ leader in the West Bank on Tuesday. Military officials said the operation was launched as a preemptive strike after it detected signs PIJ was moving equipment into place for an “imminent” attack on Israeli civilians in communities near Gaza.

The IDF said it has arrested 20 suspected PIJ operatives outside Gaza since the operation began.

Hamas, who governs Gaza, is usually considered a rival of Islamic Jihad but condemned the Israeli airstrikes nonetheless.

“The resistance, with all its military arms and factions, is united in this battle and will say its word with full force,” Hamas said in a statement. “It is no longer possible to accept the continuation of this situation as it is.”