Thirteen civilians were killed and more than 20 were injured, at dawn on Tuesday, as a result of Israeli raids that targeted several targets in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, its crews evacuated the martyrs and the wounded from the areas of aggression, noting that among the martyrs were 4 children and 4 women.

The Israeli army announced that it had carried out Operation Defensive Arrow against the leadership of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, in addition to targeting a series of sites for the production and storage of weapons and military equipment, as well as military sites for Jihad.

The operation targeted the Secretary of the Military Council of the Al-Quds Brigades, Jihad Ghannam (62 years), at his home in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

It also targeted the commander of the northern region in the Al-Quds Brigades, Khalil Al-Bahtini (44 years old), a member of the Political Bureau for the West Bank and the released prisoner in the Gilad Shalit deal in 2011, Tariq Ezzedine, a resident of Jenin.

Many citizens were killed, including family members of the targeted children, women and others.

The Israeli army accused the three martyrs of being responsible for a series of attacks from Gaza, and directing many attacks from the West Bank.

The Islamic Jihad movement mourned its martyrs, threatening the occupation with a harsh response.