Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that a resistance fighter was killed, on Wednesday at dawn, and another resident was injured when the Israeli Air Force fired missiles at a car driving in Tal Al Sultan area, west of Rafah city, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.Adham Abu Salmiyya, spokesperson of the Emergency and Medical Services in Gaza, reported that the body of the assassinated fighter, and the wounded resident, were moved to Abu Yousef Al Najjar Hospital in the city.
The slain fighter was identified as Ismail Al Asmar, 34, one of the field leaders of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad. The brigades vowed “fierce retaliation”.
The assassination was carried out less than 24 hours after the resistance in Gaza declared ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, in an effort to avoid further tension that followed the Thursday Eilat attack that led to the death of eight Israelis.
The Israeli army claimed that the fighter ‘was involved in terrorist attacks in Sinai’, and in ‘smuggling weapons and munition into Gaza’.
Since Thursday, Israel killed more than 15 Palestinians, including children, in Gaza, and wounded dozens of residents. Among the slain residents were resistance fighters.
On Tuesday, the Egyptian Authorities stated that three of the men believed to be behind the Thursday attack in Eilat coastal city have been identified, and that one of them is a fugitive owns an ammunition factory in Sinai, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported. The three detained persons are fugitives wanted by the Egyptian security forces for illegal activities and attacks, Al Jazeera added.
Directly after the attack, Israeli military helicopters violated the border with Egypt and fired missiles killing five Egyptian soldiers.
