Hamas leadership: "Israeli strike 'opened the gates to hell'"

The Israeli army fired at a car in the Gaza Strip in which the leader of the Hamas militant wing, Ahmad al-Jabari, was. As a result of the shelling, Jabari was killed, the BBC reports .

The Israeli army said the killing of Jabari is the beginning of a broad operation against extremist groups in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The Hamas leadership said the Israeli strike "opened the gates to hell."

Israel launched an anti-terrorist operation against groups in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants refused to cease fire. Over the past four days, Hamas has fired more than 120 rockets and mortars into Israel, injuring nine people. The latest attack was carried out this afternoon: four rockets fell in the Eshkol area in southern Israel, and another was fired towards another area in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry condemned Israeli strikes on Gaza and called for them to stop "immediately."

The British Foreign Office called on all parties to exercise restraint to prevent dangerous escalation.

Photo: Reuters

Meanwhile, Israeli radio reported that schools in Ashkelon will be closed tomorrow. The situation in other areas will be assessed this evening and a decision on schools will be made later. The decision to close schools in Ashkelon came after the military reported possible retaliation from Palestinian groups.