Israeli airstrike kills 2 Islamic Jihad commanders in central Gaza

JERUSALEM, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) — Two battalion commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement were killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday.
The IDF said that Israeli aircraft on Thursday carried out a “precise strike” on a command and control center in the city of Deir al-Balah used by Hamas and PIJ militants. The attack killed “a number of” militants, including Abdallah Khatib, commander of the PIJ’s Southern Deir al-Balah Battalion, who commanded the battalion’s operations in the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel, according to the statement.
The IDF also reported that Hatem Abu Aljidian, commander of the PIJ’s Eastern Deir al-Balah Battalion who was involved in planning attacks against Israeli forces during the conflict, was also killed in the strike.
Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,939, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday. ■