Terrorist groups in Gaza on high alert, fear assassinations

The head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group’s military wing has decided to increase security measures in fear of possible assassination attempts by Israel. Officials in the terrorist group are changing their routine and staying mobile against the possibility that Israel could carry out a similar assassination to that of PIJ official Baha Abu al-Ata in November, which sparked a week-long escalation between Israel and PIJ.

Most of the rockets launched at Israel in the past two weeks were fired by PIJ. Khalil Bathani, a leader in PIJ, is considered the main possible target for assassination, according to Ynet. He has been targeted in the past.

Hamas has been promoting and possibly supporting the recent escalation in explosive balloon launches towards Israel, even though they have stopped them in the past.

In recent strikes by the IDF in Gaza, only targets belonging to Hamas have been struck. Palestinian sources told Ynet that the strikes were very severe and affected “strategic” underground complexes used for rocket storage. Hamas has remained silent on the extent of the damage. Local residents have reported that the explosions in the attacks were very strong.

The IDF and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced a ban on the import of cement into Gaza on Saturday, after cement was allowed into the Strip on Thursday for the first time since 2007.

The IDF is also cutting 500 entry permits into Israel for Gazan merchants effective Sunday morning, until further notice.

Explosive balloons were found in southern Israel and in a town near Hebron on Sunday, as nine trucks carrying about 150 tons of Israeli-supplied cooking gas entered the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.