Israel continues to hunt islamic jihadists in the West Bank, which sparked a large-scale conflict with Gaza over the arrest of Islamic Jihad leaders in the West Bank. However, on 6 August, the Israel Defense Forces and The Hinbert continued to expand their offensive against Islamic Jihad, arresting 19 more members of the group in the West Bank and launching further airstrikes against jihadist targets in Gaza.
Islamic Jihad, which originated in the Gaza Strip and is an Iranian-backed Islamist militant group in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, is now developing a formidable presence in the West Bank, posing a formidable challenge to Abbas's PLO and a growing threat to the Israeli-occupied territories.
Israel, after secret coordination with the Palestinian Authority, began cracking down on Islamic Jihad. The most recent major military operation in Gaza was sparked by Israel's arrest of Bassam Saadi in the West Bank earlier this week. Bassam Saadi is a prominent Member of Islamic Jihad, which Israel accuses of orchestrating a series of attacks.
The Israeli military said during Saturday's further mop-up operations, 20 people were detained, 19 of whom were members of Islamic Jihad. Israel insists that Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza plan to attack southern Israel in retaliation for Saadi's arrest, forcing the military to launch what it calls a "pre-emptive" attack.
