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Israeli forces kill Islamic Jihad field commander in Gaza strike
Israeli forces killed Baha abu Al-Atta, a field commander for the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, in a predawn strike on his home in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, officials on both sides said.
At least one other person, a woman, was also killed in the blast that ripped through the building in Gaza City's Shejaia district, medical officials said. Two others were wounded.
In a statement, the Israeli military said Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorized the operation against Al-Atta, accusing him of carrying out a recent series of cross-border rocket, drone and sniper attacks and planning more.
“A building in the Gaza Strip, in which the Palestinian Islamic Jihad senior leader Baha Abu al-Ata stayed in, was attacked,” Israel’s military said in a statement, calling it a joint operation between the army and Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security service.
“Abu Al-Atta was responsible for most of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s activity in the Gaza Strip and was a ticking bomb,” the statement said, accusing Al-Atta of planning “imminent terror attacks through various means.”
An Islamic Jihad statement confirmed the death of al-Atta, who it said had been in the midst of “heroic jihadist action.”
“Our inevitable retaliation will rock the Zionist entity,” the statement said, referring to Israel.
The Islamic Jihad group vowed to respond strongly to the attack on its field commander, an Al Arabiya correspondent cited the group as saying.
A number of rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip onto Israeli settlements following the incident, an Al Arabiya correspondent reported citing Gaza sources, as sirens sounded in the cities.
The Israeli army confirmed, stating that Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip pounded the Jewish state with “substantial” rocket fire Tuesday after Israel killed a commander of Islamic Jihad.
“There is substantial fire,” army spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists in a conference call.
Rockets struck the south of Israel and warning sirens wailed in Tel Aviv, although there were no immediate reports of hits on the seaside city.
“We are preparing for a number of days of fighting,” Conricus said.
The Israeli army has blocked all roads around the border of the Gaza Strip, according to the Al Arabiya correspondent, who added that warning sirens sounded in Tel Aviv.
Islamic Jihad, in its own statement, confirmed al-Atta's death and threatened retaliation against Israel.
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Amid growing anxiety among several European countries participating in NATO over Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated he looks forward to sitting down with Trump.
Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.
Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.
On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.
It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.
Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.
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