Israel threatens to target Islamic Jihad leaders abroad

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Saturday threatened to target leaders of Islamic Jihad group abroad amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Friday citing “imminent threat of attack” by Islamic Jihad group, triggering retaliatory rocket fire from the Palestinian group.

At least 13 Palestinians, including a five-year-old girl, were killed and 114 others injured in the Israeli attacks, according to the Health Ministry.

The attacks came amid rising tensions across the Palestinian territories since Monday when Israeli forces detained Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad group, in a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

“The leadership of Islamic Jihad, who sit abroad in restaurants and stay in hotels in Tehran, Syria, and Lebanon, are disconnected from their people,” Gantz said during a tour of an Iron Dome air defense battery in southern Israel, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.

He said Islamic Jihad leaders are “seriously harming” the livelihoods of Gaza residents amid the current escalation of violence.

“They will also pay the bill,” Gantz said.

On Saturday, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned Israel of a “heavy price” for its ongoing attacks in Gaza, during a meeting with Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah in Tehran.

The Israeli army said earlier Saturday that its airstrikes in Gaza may last for a week.