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Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Israel used multiple airstrikes Friday to hit Gaza, killing a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a 5-year-old girl and at least eight others; 55 were wounded, according to local health officials. "Israel will not allow the terrorist organizations to set the agenda in the Gaza Strip and threaten the citizens of the state of Israel," Prime Minister Yair Lapid of Israel said shortly after the attack.
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According to Islamic Jihad, Taysir al-Jabari, a commander of the Islamic Jihad al-Quds Brigade military arm, was killed in the Israeli attack on a residential building in Gaza City.
After the Israeli attack, more than 70 rockets were fired in southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, according to the Jerusalem Post. No casualties were reported in Israel.
Shortly before the airstrikes in Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said during a press conference at the military's Southern Command in Beersheba, "To our enemies, and specifically to the leadership of [Gaza's rulers] Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, I would like to emphasize: Your time is up. The threat [on this region] will be removed one way or another."
The Israeli Defense Forces said a high-rise "Palestinian Tower" in Gaza City was struck and the IDF said about 15 people, described by the IDF as Palestinian militants, were killed.
Israel arrested Bassem Saadi on Monday night, alleged to be head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israel 's attack in Gaza came amid days of tension following that arrest.
