UPDATE - Islamic Jihad commander killed in Gaza airstrike: Israeli army

UPDATES WITH ISLAMIC JIHAD'S CONFIRMATION

By Abdelraouf Arna'out

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army said Monday it assassinated Islamic Jihad commander Husam Abu Harbeed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip.

Military spokesman Avichai Adraee said Abu Harbeed commanded the Palestinian group’s northern Gaza division.

The spokesman said Abu Harbeed was allegedly responsible for anti-tank missile fire that lightly wounded an Israeli last week.

Islamic Jihad confirmed Abu Harbeed's assassination, vowing in a statement to "continue the resistance" until the end of Israeli occupation in Palestinian lands.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed, including 59 children and 35 women, in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last week, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 1,305 people have also been injured and tens of buildings destroyed or damaged in the Israeli assault.

Ten Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

The recent tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara