Misfired rockets likely killed many in Gaza

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PALESTINE Misfired rockets likely killed many in Gaza TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Close to one-third of the Palestinians who died in the latest outbreak of violence between Israel and Gaza militants may have been killed by errant rockets fired by the Palestinian side, ac- cording to an Israeli military assessment that appears consistent with indepen- dent reporting by The Asso- ciated Press.

The Israeli military said 47 Palestinians were killed in the weekend of fighting - at least 14 of them by Islamic Jihad-fired rockets that fell short. No one in Gaza with direct knowledge of the explosions in question was willing to speak about them publicly. But live TV footage showed militant rockets falling short in packed residential neighborhoods.

And AP vis- its to the sites of two explo- sions that killed a total of 12 people lent support to sus- picions they were caused by rockets that went off course. Israel is claiming victory in the weekend clash, in part because it killed two senior Islamic Jihad commanders and because no Israelis were killed or seriously wounded.

If it turns out that Islamic Jihad harmed some of those it claims to protect, it would make for a humiliating out- come for the militant group and its main sponsor, Iran. In Gaza, the ruling Hamas militant group heavily po- lices dissent, and many Pal- estinians view armed groups as freedom fighters defend- ing their homeland in the face of Israeli aggression.

Israel said it targeted only militants and made every ef- fort to spare civilians. But at least one strike, which killed a senior Islamic Jihad com- mander in the southern city of Rafah late Saturday, also killed five civilians as Is- rael flattened one home and heavily damaged others.

The violence began Friday, when Israellaunched a wave of airstrikes against Islamic Jihad because of what the military described as an im- minent threat to Israelis liv- ing near the Gaza frontier. By the time a cease-fire took effect late Sunday, Islamic Jihad had fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.

The Israeli army said mili- tants fired about 1,100 rock- ets, with about 200 landing inside the Palestinian en- clave. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 46 Palestin- ians were killed in the three days of fighting, including 16 children and four wom- en. It does not differentiate between civilians and mili- tants.

On Saturday night, seven Palestinians were killed in a blast in the crowded Jebali- ya refugee camp in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said it carried out no op- erations in the area at the time. It released video foot- age purportedly showing a barrage of militant rockets, with one falling short.

Islamic Jihad had an- nounced a rocket attack on the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, just north of Je- baliya, at around the same time as the explosion.

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"Misfired rockets likely killed many in Gaza," Des Moines Register, 18 August 2020. Covering Palestine archive, CP-2020-007. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-2020-007