On May 9, 2023, the IDF fired the opening shots in Operation Shield and Arrow, when in targeted killings it killed three senior members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad: the commander of the organization in the northern Gaza Strip, the secretary general of the PIJ military council, and a senior commander responsible for directing terror arracks in the West Bank. Ten other people were killed in the attacks, including women and children. The civilian deaths prompted discussion of the specific operation and whether it met the rules of...
Israel’s home front functioned well during Operation Shield and Arrow, the recent short round of fighting against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). There was no evidence of the impaired national consensus and undermined societal solidarity of recent months sparked by the political-social crisis, which raised questions about national security issues, including mandatory service in the IDF and the commitment to serve. The return to routine following the operation was swift. Overall, the limited round of fighting did not severely...
Another exchange of blows in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Islamic Jihad ended with Egyptian mediation. Israel once again initiated a military operation, seizing an opportunity to attack senior Islamic Jihad figures, while allowing Hamas, which in practice rules the Gaza Strip, to avoid responsibility for what occurs there. Militarily, Israel saw operational success, both offensively and defensively. However, politically, Israel allowed Hamas to set the rules of the game, continue to enjoy the fruits of its arrangement with...
