Gaza Islamists fire rockets into Israel after a jihadi leader is killed

Baha Abu el-Atta will no longer be scheming to kill Israelis now that he has joined his fellow martyrs eternally cavorting with their assigned virgins in Jannah after the Israeli Air Force blew him to smithereens along with his wife.

In response to the justice served, jihadis in Gaza fired over 100 rockets into the town of Sderot Tuesday morning. The militants vowed further revenge, as if they needed an excuse to kill Jews.

“The response to this crime will have no limits,” Islamic Jihad said in a statement.

Of course, it was no crime to impose the death penalty on the person who has been responsible for imposing the death penalty on people living in Israel while being Jewish.

The airstrike killed el-Atta and his wife in their home in eastern Gaza, according to Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman. He referred to the the jihadi as a "ticking time bomb" who was responsible for the many rocket attacks on southern Israel. 

Conricus said el-Atta was planning new attacks. "We essentially, over the last week, have been waiting for the opportune moment to conduct this surgical strike," he said. 

Conricus explained that the airstrike only destroyed the one floor of the building in which el-Atta called home, in order to minimize "collateral damage."  The building is in the eastern part of Gaza City. to minimize "collateral damage."

In mere minutes after the Palestinian terrorists confirmed el-Atta's death, they indiscriminately fired a multitude of rockets at Israel, hoping to create "collateral damage" rather than avoiding it, sparking air raid sirens in the morning as far as Tel Aviv.

At least 100 rockets were fired at Israel and of these, about 60 were intercepted by the Iron Dome system. Fortunately, there were no Israeli casualties.

Schools were closed and citizens were asked to remain at home in those communities from the Gaza border all the way to Tel Aviv, almost 60 miles away. 

At least two people were injured from the rockets, including an 8-year-old girl who is in critical condition while running to a bomb shelter, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Conricus said that Israel has no future plans to assassinate jihadi leaders, but said of el-Atta, "There was no other choice."

By mid-morning, the IDF said it made a direct hit of two Islamic jihad militants from a rocket-launching unit. The Gaza Health Ministry said a Palestinian man was killed and another wounded in the strike.

One of the rockets from Gaza hit a residential house in Netivot in southern Israel, penetrating the roof of the home, but nobody was hurt, the IDF said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a series of warnings recently about alleged Iranian aggression, while he has also been criticized by Israelis along the southern border to soft responses to recent terrorist attacks. However, his Security Cabinet was holding an emergency meeting to discuss further action which hopefully will be more forceful.

But even Netanyahu's political rival, Benny Gantz, said the airstrike was "the right decision."

A successful military operation could politically strengthen Netanyahu as he seeks to hold onto power — especially if he is indicted on corruption charges.

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