Here's what you need to know about the current Israeli-Gaza conflict

Israeli and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip Saturday witnessed the worst cross-border violence since the 11-day war betweenIsrael. There was a shootout going on in the game. And last year's Hamas.

Israeli airstrikes killed him 11. Among them was a senior commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Iran-backed extremist group, killed in a targeted attack.

READ MORE: Israel-Gaza Conflict: Militants engage in firefight after deadly attack

Another week of senior Islamic Jihad leaders in the West Bank in a multi-month Israeli operation to round up Palestinians suspected of attacking.

Militants have fired dozens of rockets into Israeli cities and towns, disrupting the lives of tens of thousands of people.

Here's a rundown of recent violence:

Shadows over Hamas

Islamic Jihad is the smaller of the two major Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, and is the ruling Hamas Much more numerous than groups. However, it receives direct financial and military support from Iran,    a driving force behind its involvement in rocket attacks and other conflicts with Israel.

Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007 from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority,       184} Poor neighborhoods. Islamic Jihad has no such mandate and has emerged as a more militant faction, sometimes even undermining Hamas' authority.

This group was established in 1981 with the aim of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state across the West Bank, Gaza, and where is now . it was done. It has been designated a terrorist organization by the  United States Department of State, the European Union, and other governments. Like Hamas, Islamic Jihad vows to destroy Israel.

Ties to Iran

Archenemy of Israel Iran provides training, expertise and funding for Islamic Jihad, but most of the group's weapons are produced locally. In recent years, it has developed a Hamas-equivalent weapon with long-range rockets capable of striking the Tel Aviv metropolitan area in central Israel. Air raid sirens sounded in a suburb just south of Tel Aviv on Friday, but it doesn't appear that rockets have hit the area.

Although its base is  Gaza, Islamic Jihad also has leadership in Beirut and Damascus, and Iranian officials.

The group's top leader, Ziad al-Nahra, was meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran when Israel launched operations in Gaza on Friday.

Commander Targeted

This is not the first time Israel has killed an Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza. The commander who was killed on Friday, Taysere al-Jabari, replaced Baha Abu El-Attah, who was killed by Israel in a strike in 2019. His death was Israel's first high-profile assassination of an Islamic jihadist since the 2014 war in Gaza.

Trending Stories

50-Year-Old Al Jabari is a member of the Islamic Jihad "Military Council", the decision-making body of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. He was in charge of Islamic Jihad militant activities in Gaza City and northern Gaza during the 2021 war. Israel said it was preparing to launch an anti-tank missile strike against Israel.

READ MORE: Israel, Hamas Agree to Ceasefire to End 11-Day War

His Death A senior Islamic Jihad commander was arrested by Israel in the West Bank earlier this week. Bassam al-Saadi, age 62,  is a high-ranking Islamic Jihad official in the North West Bank. According to Israeli media, al-Saadi worked to deepen the group's influence and expand its capabilities in the West Bank.

Al-Saadi spent a total of 15 years in Israeli prisons on several occasions as an active Islamic Jihadist. Israel killed two of his sons, who were also Islamic Jihad fighters, in a separate incident in 2002 and destroyed his home the same year during heavy fighting in the West Bank city of Jenin.

"Attacking a commander immediately affects all organizations," said Zvika Haimovich, a former commander of the Israeli military's air defense forces.

"It will soon cause great turmoil in jihad."

A delicate balance

Since taking power in 2007, Hamas has I have fought four wars with Israel. Barring a flare-up earlier this year, the border has been largely quiet since his 11-day war last year, and Hamas appears to be sitting on the sidelines of this current conflagration.

READ MORE: Israeli Palestinian violence in Gaza

Islamic Jihad militants are often blamed for increasing their presence among Palestinians while Hamas maintains a ceasefire. It challenges Hamas by launching rockets without claiming it.Israel claims Hamas is responsible for all rocket launches from Gaza.

Hamas must walk a tightrope between curbing Islamic Jihad firings against Israel and avoiding anger if Palestinians crack down on the group. has the final say on how long and how violent this series of battles will last.

Interim Leaders

The current battle is at a time when Israel is in a prolonged political crisis. occurs.  sent voters to his fifth poll in less than four years this fall.

His Yair Lapid, the interim leader, has been forced to take over after the collapse of the ideologically diverse government he supported. He took office earlier this summer, sparking new elections.

Many of Israelis lack the security background they see as essential to their leadership. His political destiny may hang in the current battle and will be boosted if he can present himself as a competent leader, or let the Israelis enjoy the last weeks of summer.

Rapid hopes to defeat former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a security hawk on trial for corruption charges, in the upcoming vote. I'm in.

© 2022 The Associated Press