Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, has cut short his three-day India trip and will return to Israel after receiving a security update. Israel eliminated three Islamic Jihad commanders in northern Gaza in overnight air strikes, and the entire country is anticipating retaliation. It is unclear what the security update was, but Israel says the operation was launched to target militants who posed an immediate danger to its citizens. There are concerns that militants based in Gaza and the Islamic Jihad will retaliate with rocket attacks into Israel, as it promised to take revenge.
According to the ministry in Gaza, women and children were among the 20 people who sustained injuries, and some of them are currently in critical or serious conditions. In multiple rounds of pre-dawn air strikes across Gaza, 40 Israeli warplanes and helicopters struck homes, causing panic among residents. Photos shared on social media showed at least two apartments with their fronts torn apart and others damaged. Along with targeting the three militants, the Israeli military said that it eliminated 10 sites being used for manufacturing weapons and six military facilities of Islamic Jihad.
The al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, confirmed that three commanders were among those who were killed. “Any terrorist who harms Israeli citizens will be made to regret it,” Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said. Cohen was scheduled to meet with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and was expected to participate in the India-Israel Business Forum organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He was also scheduled to take part in a special conversation organised by the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute in New Delhi.
