Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a lesser-known terrorist organization that works in coordination with Hamas, has been blamed for a deadly attack on a hospital in Gaza City.
Hamas had claimed that an Israeli airstrike killed more than 500 people, including civilians seeking treatment, at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital.
But Israeli officials refuted the claim and proved that the explosion at the hospital was caused by a rocket launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The attack marked the deadliest escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas since the terrorist group launched its surprise attack on October 7.
Here’s what we know about Islamic Jihad and its ties to Hamas:
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is the second largest armed group in Gaza, with around 1,000 active members.
Who is responsible for the attack on the Al-Ahli Arab hospital?
At a news conference on Tuesday, Israeli officials used surveillance footage and audio recordings to prove that the explosion at the hospital was caused by a failed rocket that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was targeting Tel Aviv.
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“An enemy rocket launch was launched towards Israel, which passed in the vicinity of the hospital when it was hit,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
“According to intelligence information, from various sources we have, the GAP organization is responsible for the failed shooting that affected the hospital.”
A Gaza hospital was attacked on Tuesday, and Hamas officials estimate the death toll at around 500. Telegram Hamas has claimed that the hospital was hit in an Israeli airstrike, but Israeli officials say it occurred when the Islamic Jihad in Palestine he misfired a rocket.
President Biden agreed with that assertion in televised remarks Wednesday, saying, “Based on the information we have seen to date, it appears to be the result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza.
“The United States unequivocally stands for the protection of civilian life during conflict,” he added.
What is Palestinian Islamic Jihad?
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is the second largest armed group in Gaza, with around 1,000 active members, according to the US director of National Intelligence.
Their goal is to establish an Islamist Palestinian state and destroy the State of Israel, according to Fox News.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is said to be actively coordinating with Hamas in its war against Israel. Mahmoud Issa/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
The group was founded in 1979 in the Gaza Strip to fight against the Israeli occupation and continues to maintain a presence in both Gaza and the West Bank.
It is now led by Sec. General Ziya al-Nakhalah, whom the US State Department classifies as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
How is it related to Hamas?
Islamic Jihad and Hamas are considered the two most important members of the joint operations room, which coordinates most of the military activity between armed groups in the Gaza Strip, according to The New York Times.
Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel.
But PIJ often works independently of Hamas, focuses more on military confrontations and has rejected peace talks with the Jewish state.
Islamic Jihad differs from Hamas because it is more focused on military confrontations with Israel. Mahmoud Issa/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Its military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, has been responsible for many of the attacks against Israel in recent years.
Israel and the United States consider both organizations terrorist groups.
What role has Islamic Jihad in Palestine played in the current war?
In addition to being blamed for the Gaza City hospital attack, al-Nakhalah took responsibility for holding captive more than 30 of the hostages Hamas took when it launched its surprise attack on Israel earlier this month.
The Al-Quds Brigade also claimed responsibility for an attack on the Lebanon-Israel border on Monday, Al Arabiya reports.
The military wing of Islamic Jihad in Palestine, the al-Quds Brigades, has been responsible for many of the attacks against Israel in recent years.APAImages/Shutterstock
In a statement, the Al-Quds Brigade spokesperson said: “We are part of this battle and our fighters stand shoulder to shoulder with their brothers in the Al-Qassam Brigades until victory, God willing.”
What is your relationship with Iran?
Islamic Jihad in Palestine, like Hamas, receives support from Iran, Syria and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, Fox reports.
Iran, in particular, has provided rockets and drones to the terrorist organization, which was largely inspired by the Iranian revolution, considering it a movement that should be modeled throughout the Arab world.
In this way, the Islamic Jihad in Palestine adopted the suicide techniques used by the Islamists in Iran in 1979.
Israeli officials believe the terrorist organization is funded by Iran. Majority World/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Islamic Jihad founder Fathi Shaqaqi even shared Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini’s belief that “Islam was the solution and jihad was the right means.”
Shaqaqi’s successor, Ramadan Abdallah Shallah, also met with Iranian officials in Tehran and Damascus.
Israeli officials now believe Iran is orchestrating the terrorist group’s attacks.
The worst attack on Israel in 50 years: how we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after seizing the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: The terrorist group Hamas wins the Palestinian legislative elections.
2007: Hamas takes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches a military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fire rockets at the city of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches largest attack on Israel in 50 years.
More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, more than 4,200 wounded and at least 100 taken hostage, with the death toll expected to rise after Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of militants into Israeli cities. .
Hamas terrorists were seen taking women hostage and parading them down the street in gruesome videos.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “We are at war” and promised that Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
Gaza health officials report that at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured.
“Iran has been trying for years, especially in recent months, to have a terrorist organization, both Islamic Jihad, which is fully supported and financed by Iran, and [the] Hamas terrorist organization that is also funded, but not entirely, by Iran,” Lior Harat, spokesperson for Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, told Fox News.
“They are calling them to attack Israel and Israelis,” he said.
“Those terrorist organizations are working as representatives of the ayatollah regime.”
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