As a result of his airstrike, one person died, another was injured Israel V Gaza Strip today, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military said they had attacked the positions of the Palestinian group “Islamic Jihad” in Gaza, from where the rocket attack was carried out.

Earlier today, Israeli forces killed two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the occupied West Bank, the day after airstrikes in Gaza against an armed group killed 15 people, including militants and children.

Ahmed Assaf, 19, and Rani Katanat, 24, were killed when the Israeli army shelled Kabatiyah, a village near Jenin in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

In addition, a 17-year-old Palestinian was shot in the stomach and chest, according to the same source, who added that the injuries “are characterized as very serious.”

Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian organization designated “terrorist” by Israel, the EU and the US, said in a statement that the two Palestinians were members of its armed wing.

The organization was the target of Israeli strikes in Gaza yesterday, Tuesday, in which several of its fighters were killed, as well as civilians, raising fears of a new escalation of violence.

Early this morning, militants in a car opened fire on Israeli soldiers in Kabatiyah during an army operation to arrest a “wanted suspect,” the Israeli army said.

“In response, the soldiers opened fire on the two attackers and killed them,” he added. “In addition, shots were fired in the area, the suspects threw explosive devices at the soldiers.”

About 20 people were arrested in the West Bank as part of an Israeli operation today, according to army and Palestinian sources.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, for its part, said three more people were wounded near Ramallah by the Israeli army and Jewish settlers.

Netanyahu’s warning

Islamic Jihad today warned the “enemy” that “the answer will come.”

This morning, residents of Israeli areas bordering Gaza were ordered to stay close to shelters. Schools remained closed within a 40 km radius of the Palestinian enclave, according to Israeli state radio.

Israeli security officials are preparing “for any escalation scenario on more than one front,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday Tuesday.

In response to new Israeli strikes, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry today condemned “aggressive actions” that “could make the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories unmanageable.”

The US called for “de-escalation from all sides” and UN Middle East envoy Thor Veneslmand called the deaths of civilians in the Gaza Strip “unacceptable”.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 125 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, a Ukrainian woman and an Italian have been killed in violent incidents linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to AFP figures based on official statements by authorities on both sides.

These statistics include fighters and civilians on the Palestinian side, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors, as well as three members of the Arab minority.

^{Source: APE, AFP, Reuters.}