Islamic Jihad Denies Responsibility for Gaza Hospital Strike

Israel and Palestinians have traded blame over the bombing of Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on October 17. Israel contends that Islamic Jihad was behind the attack, asserting that a failed rocket launch by the group struck the hospital. However, Islamic Jihad has denied involvement,

stating that it had no activity in or around Gaza City at the time of the incident. Islamic Jihad was established in the late 1970s by Fathi Shiqaqi and Abdel-Aziz Odeh. The group gained support among Palestinians who were disenchanted with Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

In 1995, Shiqaqi was assassinated in Malta, reportedly by Israeli agents. The group’s stated objective is the destruction of Israel and its replacement with an Islamic state encompassing pre-1948 British Mandate Palestine, which includes the West Bank and Gaza. Israel captured these territories during the 1967 Middle East war. Islamic Jihad receives funding and expertise from Iran, estimated by Israel to be in the tens of millions of dollars annually. The group maintains foreign headquarters in Beirut and Damascus. Although its presence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is more limited compared to Gaza, it has been expanding. Islamic Jihad possesses the second-largest armed network in Gaza, following Hamas terrorists.

Accurate figures on its size are challenging to obtain, with 2021 estimates ranging from approximately 1,000 to several thousand fighters, according to the CIA’s World Factbook. The group also maintains a substantial arsenal of rockets, mortars, and anti-tank missiles, though it does not publicly disclose such information Unlike Hamas terrorist , Islamic Jihad has not participated in Palestinian parliamentary elections and does not appear to aspire to govern in Gaza or the West Bank. Israel, the United States, and European nations have designated Islamic Jihad as a terrorist organization.

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