Israeli airstrike kills Hamas military chief in Gaza sparking fears of a new war
- Ahmed Jabari was travelling in a car in Gaza city when it exploded
- Jabari was the most senior Hamas official to be killed since an Israeli invasion of Gaza four years ago
- He has been blamed for a string of bloody attacks, including the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in 2006
- Islamic Jihad declares: 'Israel has declared war on Gaza and they will bear the responsibility for the consequences'
By David Williams
|
This is the moment a pinpoint Israeli airstrike blew up the one of the top Hamas military commanders in Gaza today.
Ahmed Jabari, the most senior Hamas official to be killed since an Israeli invasion of Gaza four years ago, was travelling in a car in Gaza city when it was struck by a rocket and exploded.
Video of the attack was then posted online by the Israeli Defense Force as it provided live updates of its Operation Pillar of Defense on Terror Targets in Gaza.
Scroll down for video

Video released by the IDF shows the moment it targeted Ahmed Jabari, the head of Hamas' military wing, in the Gaza Strip. Here, Mr Jabari's car is driving along a residential road

As the car carrying Mr Jabari reaches a crossroads the missile is fired and then...

The pinpoint attack hits, and Mr Jabari's car explodes in a ball of flame

Targeted: Hamas operative Ahmed Jabari's car explodes after it was hit by a missile fired by the Israeli Defense Force
The 46-year-old had long topped Israel's most-wanted list and was notorious in Israel, which blamed him for in a string of bloody attacks, including the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in 2006.
Israel immediately admitted responsibility for the attack and said Jabari had been behind 'all terrorist activities against Israel from Gaza' in the last decade.
'The purpose of this operation was to severely impair the command and control chain of the Hamas leadership,' the Israeli military said in a statement.
?
Immediate calls for revenge were broadcast over Hamas radio and smaller groups also warned of retaliation.
'Israel has declared war on Gaza and they will bear the responsibility for the consequences,' Islamic Jihad said.
The killing was a dramatic resumption of Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian militant leaders and military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovitch said the attack is the 'start of a broader operation' - seen as a clear indication attacks on more Hamas leaders are planned.

Palestinians try to extinguish fire following an Israeli air strike on Gaza City

Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City

Running for cover: Palestinians run out of their houses following the air strikes

Jihad Masharawi weeps while he holds the body of his 11-month-old son Ahmad, at Shifa hospital following a strike on their family house

Columns of smoke rise as Israeli airstrikes hit a series of targets across Gaza City

A Palestinian helps a woman evacuate her house

No chance: People look at a wreckage of the car in which was killed Jabari, head of the in Gaza City

The body: Israel's Shin Bet security service immediately admitted responsibility for the attack and said Jabari had been behind 'all terrorist activities against Israel from Gaza' in the last decade
Jabari, who ran the organisation's armed wing, Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam, was blamed by Israel for a recent wave of heavy rocket fire into the country from Gaza.
The Israeli military has already carried out retaliatory air strikes in Gaza and there were three more reported attacks yesterday on other targets in Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah.
Since Saturday, four Palestinian civilians and three militants, including Jabari, have been killed in Gaza, and dozens injured. Eight Israelis have also been hurt.

(File picture) An Israeli F-15 fighter bomber, the aircraft that carried out the strikes
Israeli military officials said Jabari was identified by 'precise intelligence' gathered over several months.
Gunfire echoed round the streets of Gaza last night as Hamas fighters spoke of revenge and an escalation of attacks into Israel which could trigger another war in the region, drawing in Hezbollah and Lebanon, already a frontier of the conflict in Syria.
The killings come amid warnings Israel may try to topple President Mahmoud Abbas if he carries out a plan to ask the United Nations this month to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority, an official said yesterday.

'Part of a broader operation': The killing was a dramatic resumption of Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian militant leaders

Surveillance: Israeli military officials said Jabari was identified by 'precise intelligence' gathered over several months

Fears of war: Immediate calls for revenge were broadcast over Hamas radio and smaller groups also warned of retaliation against Israel
The upgrade would give the Palestinians a place in the world body similar to that of the Vatican - short of full membership as a sovereign state but as close as they can get without the full recognition that Israel says can only come from a peace treaty.

Ransomed soldier: Jabari has been blamed in particular for the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in 2006. He was returned home after five years in captivity in exchange for hundreds of Hamas prisoners
A draft document from the office of Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said Israel must confront this challenge by means that could include 'toppling (Abbas) and dismantling the Palestinian Authority'.
Newspaper reports say Israel instructed its ambassadors to warn it may revoke all or part of the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which set up the Palestinian Authority under an interim peace agreement.
The Palestinians are currently an observer 'entity' at the United Nations. An upgrade could grant them access to bodies such as the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where they might file legal suits against Israel.
Targeted killings are controversial but advocates say they are an effective deterrent without the complications associated with a ground operation, chiefly civilian and Israeli troop casualties. Proponents argue they also prevent future attacks by removing their masterminds.
Critics say they invite retaliation by militants and encourage them to try to assassinate Israeli leaders. They complain that the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings.
During a wave of suicide bombings against Israel a decade ago, the country employed the tactic to eliminate the upper echelon of Hamas leadership.
Israeli aircraft have previously assassinated the previous commander of Hamas' military wing, Salah Shehadeh, the movement's spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, and dozens of other senior Hamas military commanders.

Top level: Jabari, right, meets with Palestinian leader of Hamas Khaled Mashaal. The 46-year-old had long topped Israel's most-wanted list and was notorious in Israel, which blamed him for in a string of bloody attacks
Hamas has governed Gaza since 2007 and does not recognise Israel's right to exist. It has been emboldened by the rise to power in neighbouring Egypt of its spiritual mentors in the Muslim Brotherhood whom it views as a 'safety net'.
Israel last staged a full-scale attack on Gaza during a three week conflict in 2008 and 2009 in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.
?
?
angelina jolie leg daytona artie lange nascar daytona 2012 kasey kahne angelina jolie right leg saving face