IDF Hits 16 Hamas, Jihad Targets in Gaza, Iron Dome Performance Re-Evaluated

Photo Credit: Majdi Fathi/TPS

The IDF attacked Hamas and Jihad targets in Gaza, May 3, 2023.

According to IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, “Everything we wanted to, we attacked tonight – 16 targets of Hamas, and underground positions of the Islamic Jihad. Islamic Jihad fired the rockets, but Hamas knew and allowed it. For us, Hamas is the sovereign. Hamas only fired surface-to-air rockets at the Air Force planes, to set off the alarms and alert the residents, and you can understand the intensity.”

צה”ל מסכם: התקיפות ברצועה כוונו לאתרים לייצור אמצעי לחימה, מוצבים, מתחמים צבאיים ומנהרה תת-קרקעית של חמאס שיצאה מחאן יונס@ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/9FTWw1KkCx

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 3, 2023

Hagari suggested the news about efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza is not official, and for the time being, “We are in an ongoing situation assessment and everything is open. We will act at a time and place that suits us vis-a-vis Gaza.” He added: “Soon we will also discuss opening the Kerem Shalom and Gaza crossings.”

The closed crossings at Israel’s border with Gaza, which resulted from the rocket attacks, impact the thousands of Gazan day workers who go to work in Israel every weekday and are a burden on the local economy.

תיעוד מתוך בית בצפון מערב עזה. אין איפה להסתתר אז מצלמים. יעדי התקיפה אתרים של החמאס והג’יהאד האסלאמי. pic.twitter.com/d7Xji8N0Ff

— Jack khoury.جاك خوري (@KhJacki) May 2, 2023
The Islamic Jihad rocket attacks were in retaliation for the death of hunger-striking Jihad security prisoner Khader Adnan on the 86th day of his strike (Senior Islamic Jihad Terrorist Dies in His Last Hunger Strike). His death could have been prevented had Israeli physicians not been committed to respecting his wishes and not violating his rights by force-feeding him.

According to Hagari, 104 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the current round, of which 24 were intercepted by the Iron Dome system, 48 fell in open areas, 11 landed in the open sea, and the whereabouts of another 7 are unknown. He revealed that the rockets that hit a construction site injured three civilians. But he also insisted that Iron Dome’s successful downing of enemy rockets stands at 90%.