Israel assassinates senior militant commander in Gaza

(MENAFN) On Monday, May. 17, according to Israeli forces, a senior militant commander in the Gaza Strip was killed by Israel, provoking a new barrage of rockets on Israeli cities. Fighter planes hit and assasinated Hasam Abu Harbid, commander of the Northern Division of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant outfit in Gaza that has been combating together with Hamas in the latest escalation, stated Israel's Shin Bet security service and the military in a joint report. The report said that Abu Harbid "has consistently led rocket launches against Israel, as well as shooting attacks at soldiers," further saying he was responsible for an assault last Monday in which an Israeli civilian was wounded. The report said that he was a commander in the Islamic Jihad for more than the past 15 years.