A year for the elimination of senior jihad and the rocket attack on Israel: IDF prepares for events in the sector
IDF forces on the Gaza Strip border
Photography:
Reuters
Baha'i Abu al-'Ata
Photography:
AFP / Archive
The Gaza Division is preparing for the possibility of exceptional events
Photography:
IDF spokesperson
Exactly one year ago, on the night of November 11-12, Israel eliminated senior Islamic Jihad figure Baha'u al-'Alta.
At four in the morning, a missile was fired from the air at Aleta's house in the Sajaiya neighborhood of Gaza, and exploded in the terrorist's bedroom.
Alata and his wife were killed on the spot while sleeping in their bed.
Eleta's assassination was preceded by careful preparations and discussions at the top of the defense establishment, after it became clear that he was a key factor undermining security stability in the south, and was responsible for a significant percentage of shootings at Israel at the time.
In Israel, attempts were made to stop the terrorist acts he led through diplomatic channels, including the publication of his name in the media before his assassination, but nothing stopped him from continuing his actions.
Not long after the assassination, the IDF announced that it had eliminated Aleta, and the army said in a statement that "Abu Alata planned in the coming days to carry out concrete rocket fire into the enveloping area, launch explosive drones, carry out sniping attacks, and more."
Archive photo: Moshe Ben Simhon // Correspondent: Hanan Greenwood
As expected, the attack on Aleta did not go smoothly.
His followers from the Islamic Jihad began firing hundreds of rockets at Israel, and in a total of two days of fighting, about 450 rockets were fired at Israel.
About 60 percent of them fired into open space, and 90 of the rockets fired at populated areas were intercepted by air defense fighters.
During the two days of the battle, the IDF thwarted about 25 terrorist operatives who, according to the army, "engaged in the execution of terrorist activity in the form of rocket fire and complex terrorist attacks," and attacked about 100 Islamic Jihad infrastructure targets, including munitions manufacturing complexes. In one of the attacks in Deir al-Balah, eight uninvolved civilians were killed. Hamas, for its part, chose not to intervene in the local clash between the IDF and Islamic Jihad, and the IDF chose to focus on the targets of Islamic Jihad.
The layout of the Iron Dome was expanded
On the occasion of the anniversary, which took place today, the IDF is preparing for the possibility that Aleta's loyalists will try to mark the day by firing on Israeli territory. In light of this, the IDF has thickened the deployment of Iron Dome batteries in the south of the country. It was not decided to close hinges in the enveloping space and no further significant steps were taken.
The possibility of escalation in the south of the country on the anniversary of the assassination of Abu Alata has been discussed in the defense establishment for many weeks.
Apart from the anniversary, at this point in time there are several circumstances that join each other and increase the possibility of the formation of a dynamic of escalation.
Above all, one can point to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip in the shadow of the medical and economic crisis.
Palestinian data show that in the last quarter, 49.1 percent of unemployment was recorded in the Gaza Strip, compared with 45.5 in the previous quarter.
Among the young my son
29-15 The unemployment rate stands at 69.9 percent.
It is estimated that as the situation worsens, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip will approach 60 percent.
Disappointment in Hamas
In contrast to the first wave of the corona, when only a few dozen patients were diagnosed in the Gaza Strip, in the second wave there are already thousands of patients, only a few dozen of them in critical condition.
The health care system in Gaza has improved in its preparations for the second wave of the corona, and the Gaza Strip has about 170 respirators compared to 96 in the previous wave.
Also, if in the previous wave the Strip had the ability to perform 186 tests a day, today the Gazans can perform about 2,000 tests a day.
The great economic crisis in the world also affects the attention of the countries of the world to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which was not high before.
Beyond that, the Palestinian Authority also does not transfer money to the Gaza Strip, and Hamas, for its part, greatly reduces its ability to enter and leave the Gaza Strip so as not to spread the Corona virus among its residents.
The top Hamas leaders are also very disappointed by the fact that the Qataris have pledged to transfer money for the next two months only, and by the fact that there is no significant progress in the settlement efforts with Israel.
To all this must be added the discovery of the tunnel on the Gaza Strip border a few weeks ago, which was far from deep and was intended, perhaps, to challenge the underground barrier set by Israel and whose construction is expected to be completed in March.
Bottom line, the prevailing assessment in the defense establishment is that Hamas is not currently interested in escalation, but the combination of these circumstances suggests that in the coming days we may degenerate into several days of fighting in the south.