Islamic Jihad Debuts New Missile with Attack on Israel, Pledges Bigger Surprises

TEHRAN (defapress)- The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, unveiled its latest domestic missile by firing it at targets in the Israeli occupied territories.

News ID: 77256

Date: 06 May 2019 - 16:45

The resistance group released a video on Sunday which showcased the new missile, dubbed Badr 3, before cutting to footage of it being launched at positions in the city of Ashkelon, which is located 50 kilometers (31 miles) South of Tel Aviv, presstv reported.

The missile carried a 250-kilogram (551 lb) warhead, a major leap from its predecessor which had a much smaller 40-kilogram warhead.

The video shows at least four Badr 3 missiles roaring into the dark of the night on May 4 and 5. Ashkelon is 13 kilometers North of the fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

The al-Quds Brigades warned Israel that “what is coming next will be even greater".

Meanwhile, Hamas' military wing, known as the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, published a new video that showed an Israeli armored vehicle being targeted with a Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missile. The attack took place on Sunday in an undisclosed location north of the Gaza Strip.

In a separate report, Israeli media stated that a Hamas drone had fired a missile at an Israeli military convoy.

The extent of the damage and possible casualties were not immediately clear.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said, "At this stage, with the strides made in developing better missiles, not a single point in all of the occupied Palestinian lands will be safe from the missiles of the resistance."

The attacks came in response to a series of deadly airstrikes by Israel against various targets in besieged Gaza, which began on Saturday and killed 27 Palestinians, including two pregnant women and two infants. More than 100 others were wounded in the attacks.

The upsurge in violence came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to continue massive strikes on the enclave.

Tensions erupted on Friday after four Palestinians were killed, two in an Israeli air raid on Southern Gaza and two during the regime’s live fire at anti-occupation protesters near the fence separating the besieged coastal enclave from the occupied territories.

Nearly 700 rockets were launched from Gaza in retaliation and four Israelis were killed in two days of hostilities, with more than 80 others wounded.

Gaza's surprising ability to retaliate the Israeli aggression drew an angry response from US President Donald Trump, who personally threatened residents of the blockaded enclave with "more misery".

"Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We support Israel 100% in its defense of its citizens," he wrote.

"To the Gazan people — these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace - it can happen!" he wrote in a tweet.

Palestinian resistance groups had previously warned Israel against testing their patience.

The missile attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad more than anything have proven futile the multi-billion dollar Iron Dome missile defense system that Tel Aviv has long promoted as an agile response to rockets.

While it is not yet clear how the system fared against the recent barrage of Palestinian missiles, the fact that Israel had to accept ceasefire deals both this time and back in November speaks volumes about the true potentials of the Iron Dome.

Back in November, Tel Aviv's move in accepting truce led to a huge backlash, leading Avigdor Lieberman to step down as the minister of military affairs. Hamas hailed the resignation as “an admission of defeat” by Israel and a “political victory” for the Palestinian resistance.

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