Palestinians attend a protest against Israeli strikes in Gaza, in Ramallah, in the West Bank August 5, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

i24 News – Taysir al-Jabari, killed on Friday by Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was a senior official in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization and its commander in the northern region of the Gaza Strip.

“He planned numerous deadly attacks against Israel,” the IDF said of the targeted strike in a statement on Friday.

“He held several senior positions within the organization in the past, including that of chief of operations and the chief coordinator with Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group ruling over Gaza,” the statement read.

Islamic Jihad is blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.

“Jabari was the close associate of Baha Abu al-Ata,” another Palestinian terrorist eliminated in 2019 in the course of an Israeli operation, and “succeeded the latter after his death,” according to the IDF.

“His daily duties included terrorist attacks against Israeli targets and in the past several days he made planned to carry out missile attacks against Israeli citizens and fire anti-tank missiles at IDF vehicles,” the military said.

The IDF strikes came four days after Israel closed its two border crossings with Gaza and restricted the movement of Israeli civilians living near the frontier, citing security concerns.

An IDF spokesperson added Friday that the restrictions were also intended to prepare for the targeted strike on al-Jabari, as the military awaited more intelligence about the Islamic Jihad chief’s location.

“We signed approvals for plans and waited for an operational opportunity,” IDF Major General Ran Kochav told Israel’s Kan news.