Israeli airstrike kills Palestinian senior Jihadist

Israel resumed its practice of “targeted killing” this weekend, with an airstrike against a militant in the Gaza Strip held responsible for firing rockets from the Sinai Peninsula into the southern resort city of Eilat.

Military officials said the target, Abdallah Kharti, was a senior member of the Popular Resistance Committees, a group largely comprised of fighters who left other organisations like Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad.

After a prolonged ceasefire, Gaza-based militants have launched 33 rockets at Israel since the beginning of this year – more than half the 2013 total.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded resolutely to the upsurge in violence, saying: “Whoever attacks us or plans to attack us will bear the consequences.”