Israel assassinated Islamic Jihad member in Syria, PIJ claims

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement blamed Israel for the assassination of Ali Ramzi Al-Aswad, a senior member of the movement's al-Quds Brigades, near Damascus on Sunday morning.

According to the movement, Al-Aswad was an engineer in the Brigades and was assassinated by "the agents of the Zionist enemy in the countryside of Damascus."

متابعة صفا| الشهيد القائد في سرايا القدس علي الأسود الذي اغتيل في سوريا صباح اليوم pic.twitter.com/UinBBywgPR

— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) March 19, 2023

The Islamic Jihad movement stressed that it holds Israel responsible for the assassination adding that "we affirm that we will continue to confront the enemy, attack it and respond to all its crimes against our people and our resistance."

Palestinian sources told the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV that investigations into the assassination are still ongoing and that the decision to respond will be made based on the results of the investigation. The sources added that the method of assassination is similar to previous operations in Syria and Lebanon.

In November 2019, an alleged Israeli airstrike targeted the home of a senior Islamic Jihad official named Akram al-Ajouri, killing his son and another individual.

Palestinian sources told the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV that investigations into the assassination are still ongoing and that the decision to respond will be made based on the results of the investigation. The sources added that the method of assassination is similar to previous operations in Syria and Lebanon. 

The alleged assassination on Sunday comes just a day after the secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad movement, Ziyad al-Nakhala, met with the secretary-general of the Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah.

During the meeting, al-Nakhala and Nasrallah discussed the "continuation of consultation and coordination between them in a way that strengthens the resistance in the face of the Zionist enemy."

On Sunday morning, Nasrallah met with a delegation from the Hamas movement led by Saleh al-Arouri. The two discussed "the responsibilities entrusted to the resistance movements, and the entire axis of resistance in this historical stage."

Rocket launched towards Israel

On Sunday afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed at a cabinet meeting that "all those who try to harm the citizens of Israel - their blood is on their heads. We will reach the terrorists and the architects of terrorism everywhere." Netanyahu did not refer specifically to the alleged assassination in Syria.

On Saturday evening, a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israel, landing in an open area near Nahal Oz. A group calling itself "the Lions' Den Gaza" claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. The group first claimed responsibility for rocket fire from Gaza in November.

The rocket fire on Saturday came just two days after two commanders of local branches of the Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorist groups in Jenin were killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

The two commanders were identified as Nidal Hazem, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement's al-Quds Brigades and the commander of the Baha Force unit, and Youssef Shreim, a member of Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades.

Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement had threatened to respond after the clashes, with Islamic Jihad spokesman Tariq Ezz El-Din warning at the time that "the occupation bears full responsibility for the cowardly assassination crime carried out by Zionist special forces against the fighters and mujahideen of our Palestinian people in Jenin this evening and will pay the price for these crimes."

"We say to this criminal occupier, do not rejoice in your act too much, for our martyrs are in heaven, and this is the name of our wishes, but you will regret a lot because our resistance will not spare the blood of our martyred leaders and will avenge them with all force."

Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials are set to hold consultations in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday in an attempt to lower tensions ahead of the month of Ramadan which is set to begin in the middle of this week.