Gaza: 4 casualties but commanders survive

Four Palestinians, including two children, have been wounded in a series of violent raids launched at different targets in the Gaza Strip by Israeli aircraft, on Thursday night. A spokesman for the Supreme Committee of the Emergency Services, Adham Abu Salmiyya, reported that the Israeli raids resulted in the injury of two children in the vicinity of the Al-Maqusi towers, and two young men in Muharara Netzarim. He explained that the casualties suffered from minor injuries - the children were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for treatment, while the two young men were transferred to the "Shahada'Al-Aqsa" hospital. The sources said that the raids targeted three sites – one belonging to Commander Az al-Din al-Qassam, from Muharara Netzarim in the south of Gaza, the second in the Shati refugee camp, and the third in the vicinity of the Al-Maquousi towers in the north-west of Gaza city. Israeli warplanes also raided other locations in an attempt to target the commanders of Al-Nasser Salah Al-Din group in the Al-Amal neighbourhood of Khan Younis in south Gaza. A security source said that a special meeting for a number of leaders of the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades - the military wing of the Popular Resistance Movement - including the Secretary-General Zakaria Dughmush, was adjourned about five minutes before the site was bombed. The commanders of Al-Nasser Salah al-Din said in a statement received by "ArabsToday" that Israeli warplanes bombed the site after the departure of the military leaders. The highly organized nature of the movement meant that they left the site less than ten minutes before the attack. The statement added: "We in Al-Nasser Salah Al-Din thank God first for the survival of the group’s leaders. We would also like to emphasize that the military arm of Salah Al-Din, of the Popular Resistance Brigades, will continue with its resistance and jihad." The commanders concluded their statement by confirming that through this escalation of violence, the Israelis were opening the door of conflict against the resistance once more. However, they stated that Israel will not be able to close this door, because this choice is in the hand of the resistance alone.