Israel kills commander of Islamic Jihad in Gaza rocket division in targeted attack

Ali Ghali is the second rocket force commander to be taken out in Operation Shield and Arrow

The Israel Defense Forces announced the killing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad senior commander Ali Ghali early Thursday morning.

Ghali was killed in a targeted attack on a safe house in Khan Younis in a joint operation between the Israeli Air Force and the Shin Bet internal security agency. Two other PIJ members with him in the apartment were also eliminated.

IDF spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, called the strike “a very precise attack by the Air Force.”

Palestinian media reported several injuries from the strike, but no other deaths were reported except for the three PIJ terrorists.

The IDF has released pictures and videos demonstrating its attempt to minimize noncombatant casualties during the operation.

Watch: The moment an IAF pilot cancels a strike against Islamic Jihad terrorists because of the presence of children near the target. pic.twitter.com/geCzHjxWEU
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 11, 2023

According to the IDF, Ghali was the commander of the PIJ’s rocket force, responsible for rocket attacks on Israel.

“Ghali was entrusted with the instruction and the launching of rocket fire toward Israel, including the recent barrage of rockets toward Israeli territory as part of Operation Shield and Arrow,” the IDF announced in a statement. “Ghali instructed and took part in launching the barrage of rockets toward Israel during operations Guardian of the Walls [2021] and Breaking Dawn [2022].”

Furthermore, the IDF described Ghali as “a central figure in the organization.”

Ghali was the second commander of PIJ's rocket unit to be targeted in Operation Shield and Arrow. In the targeted air strike that started the operation, the IDF took out Tareq Izz ed-Din, who was creating a rocket-building cell in the territories of Judea and Samaria.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirmed Ghali's death in a statement.

"Al-Quds Brigades mourns its martyr, the jihadist commander Ali Hassan Ghali, also known as Abu Muhammad, a member of the military council and the head of the rocket unit in Al-Quds Brigades, who was assassinated in a treacherous Zionist operation at dawn today in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, along with a number of righteous martyrs," according to the statement.

Before the strike, Israeli officials said they were considering an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire. However, Hagari said the ceasefire was contingent upon the agreement by the Palestinian terror groups.

This morning, rocket sirens were reported in Kissufim, near the Gaza Strip border.