Israel carried out bloody raids on the Gaza Strip and the raids were the bloodiest since three days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad last August and killed at least 13 Palestinians, including three leaders of the Islamic Jihad movement.

Edited by| Hugh Gey

Middle East  section -  CJ journalist

Gaza Strip – May,9,2023

The Gaza Health Ministry said four children and four women were among the dead. Half of the injured were women and children, and many were in critical condition in hospital, Palestinian health officials said, adding that eight women and children were among the dead. Another 20 people were injured.

 Israel said it had launched an operation targeting militants who posed an imminent threat to its citizens.

Islamic Jihad has vowed revenge and Gaza-based militants are expected to respond with rocket fire into Israel.

Israel officials are said to be preparing for days of fighting.

The strikes were the deadliest since three days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad last August.

The latest strikes took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when 40 Israeli warplanes and helicopters attacked in several waves across Gaza, hitting homes and causing panic among residents.

The Gaza health ministry said four children and four women were among those killed. Half of the injured were women and children and several were in critical condition in hospital, it added.

Russia's representative office in the Palestinian territories announced that one of its citizens, Dr. Jamal Khaswan, a former chairman of the Gaza Dentists' Association, was killed along with his wife and their son.

Another two of their children survived, it said. They included 10-year-old Diala, who was filmed sitting in the front seat of an ambulance and crying out for her father.

Dr. Wafai al-Sousi, a friend and colleague of Dr. Khaswan, condemned what he called the "cowardly targeting" of the family.

"I was very surprised. He was just an incredible doctor... with a good reputation. He did not belong to any political party and never worked with any military entity," he told the BBC.

Palestinian sources said Dr. Khaswan lived in an apartment in Gaza City next to one of the senior militants who was killed.

Islamic Jihad's military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, confirmed the deaths of three of its commanders, along with their wives and a number of their children. It identified them as:

Jihad Shaker al-Ghannam, secretary of the al-Quds Brigades' Military Council

Khalil Salah al-Bahtini, the commander of its Northern Region

Tariq Mohammed Ezzedine, "one of the heads of military action" in the occupied West Bank

"We affirm that the blood of the martyrs will increase our resolve," the al-Quds Brigades said. "We will not leave our positions, and the resistance will continue, God willing."

Israel said Jihad Ghannam, Tariq Ezzedine, and Khalil al-Bahtini were responsible for recent attacks

Israel's Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, said: "Any terrorist who harms Israeli citizens will be made to regret it."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Bahtini was the senior operational officer of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and that he was responsible for the rocket fire from Gaza in the last month.

"He was an imminent threat to the security of Israeli civilians."

It added that Ghannam was a senior member of Islamic Jihad's rocket force and that Ezzedine was in charge of coordination with the group's operatives in the West Bank and planning attacks on Israeli civilians there.

The IDF said its aircraft also struck 10 sites used to manufacture weapons and six Islamic Jihad military facilities.

Spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht said the operation had "achieved what we wanted to achieve", according to AFP news agency.

When asked about child casualties, he replied: "If there were some tragic deaths, we'll look into it."

He also said residents of Israeli communities within 40km (25 miles) of Gaza had been advised to stay close to bomb shelters until Wednesday evening.

Palestinian officials said three children and seven women were among the injured

The spokesman for West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said the Israeli government "bears full responsibility for this dangerous escalation".