The Israeli military carried out airstrikes in the Palestinian coastal enclave of Gaza on Wednesday aimed at the rocket-launching infrastructure of the militant group Islamic Jihad. Shortly after, militants in Gaza began firing salvos of rockets towards Israel. These strikes and rocket attacks came after an attack on Islamic Jihad by Israel on Tuesday that killed three of its top commanders and nine civilians, according to the Palestinian officials. The Israeli military also struck militants in the Southern Gaza Strip. Rockets were fired from Gaza within an hour of that.  

Officials believe the length and intensity of the fighting will depend on whether Hamas, the larger militant group that controls Gaza, would join Islamic Jihad in retaliation against Israel. Israel is now engaged in its third confrontation in 10 months with Islamic Jihad, a group that Israel, the United States and many other Western countries classify as a terrorist organization. This year has already proved to be the deadliest in more than two decades for Palestinians and Israelis with more than 110 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and 19 Israelis killed by Palestinians. 

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-airstrikes.html