(JNS) During the three-day conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Gaza-based terrorist group launched 1,100 rockets at Israel — 200 of which came down inside Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The Iron Dome air-defense system intercepted 380 rockets — 96% of projectiles heading to populated areas in Israel, according to the figures.
The IDF attacked 170 PIJ targets during the conflict, which began on Friday and ended with a ceasefire on Sunday night.
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav told Kan News on Monday that “More Palestinian [civilians] were killed by failed PIJ rocket fire than by IDF strikes.”
Kochav said that according to IDF figures, 35 Palestinians were killed in IDF attacks, 11 of them non-combatants. He described the ratio between combatant and non-combatant casualties as low.
“There are another 15 Palestinians killed by failed Palestinian rocket fire. It could be that during a [IDF] strike in Jabalia, noncombatants were killed, and this incident is being checked,” he said.
On Sunday, the IDF released footage of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) aborting a planned strike on PIJ southern division commander Khaled Mansour due to the presence of civilians in the area. The strike occurred later when the area was free of non-combatants.
In the footage, IAF operators can be heard saying, “I saw kids in the trees running around, cancel the attack.” Further postponements occur, with operators stating, “There are still kids in the garden that is in front of the house and several kids close to the house.”
Meanwhile, Israeli officials have reportedly denied claims that surfaced in Arab media reports, according to which Israel agreed to release PIJ prisoners as part of the truce.
“Israel has not agreed to release a single prisoner, including the prisoner in administrative detention, and not the one who was arrested last week [in Jenin, senior PIJ commander Bassem al-Sa’adi],” an official told Kan News on Monday.
The official also confirmed that Hamas took part in efforts to end the escalation, but had not attempted to prevent it.
