Israeli airstrikes on Gaza Strip kill 12 people

Smoke rises after a series of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Photo: THX/TTXVN

Health authorities in the Gaza Strip - currently controlled by the militant Islamist movement Hamas - said the air strike killed 12 people, including women and children.

According to the IDF, this airstrike targeted three leaders of the Jihad group, which Israel considers a terrorist organization.

A representative of Jihad confirmed that three senior figures of this organization were killed, including Jihad Ghannam - secretary of the military council of the Al-Qud Brigade; Khalil al-Bahtini - military commander of the Northern Gaza region; and Tareq Ezzedine - one of the leaders of military operations in the occupied West Bank. Jihad announced that it would take "worthy responses".

In a statement issued after the airstrike, the IDF affirmed that it would continue to carry out military operations to ensure security and protect the people of Israel. The IDF also accused the Jihad leaders who were killed in the airstrike of committing acts of terrorism against Israel.

According to AFP news agency, the airstrikes began at 2am (6am Vietnam time) and lasted for about 2 hours. The airstrikes caused a building in the Gaza Strip to catch fire.

Palestinian sources said Israeli drones bombed several buildings in Gaza City and the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

On May 3, Israel and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip reached a ceasefire agreement, with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations, to prevent the risk of Israel's attack on Gaza escalating.

Earlier on May 2, gunmen in the Gaza Strip fired rockets into Israel while Israeli tanks fired artillery into the Palestinian territory. These moves came after Khader Adnan, a senior leader of the Jihad movement, died after 87 days of hunger strike in an Israeli prison.

According to VNA