 top official in the group's military council, and Tarek Azzedin, who Israel says directs Islamic jihad activities from the West Bank in a base in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirming that 12 people were killed and 20 others injured after the bombardment. PIJ confirming that three of their operatives were among the dead along with their wives of the three commanders and a number of their children. Israeli residents of areas within 25 miles of Gaza were instructed to stay near bomb shelters amid fear of retaliatory rocket fire and shelters across southern Israel have been opened as well. Sources say the operation is expected to last for around three days. Meanwhile sources inside Gaza say that they are prepared for war. Let's bring in Professor Kobe Michail, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies. Thank you so much for being with us this morning, Israel assassinating three senior members of Palestinian Islamic jihad. Talk to us about the timing of this operation. They say that their initial goals have been met. What else can we expect on the agenda for the rest of the day and the week? Good morning. First of all, I think that it is important to emphasize that we are talking about a very significant operational intelligence achievement. Secondly, I think that the IDF and the General Security Services, Israel generally speaking, put or added another layer to the deterrence equation, not only vis-à-vis the Palestinian Islamic jihad, but vis-à-vis all the adversaries and the enemies here in the region. And thirdly, I think that we have to expect that a retaliation from Gaza will come. I think that at least at this moment Hamas maybe will feel obliged to retaliate, but I think that their interest is to contain the retaliation. But we cannot know what will be at the end of the day, and we have to be prepared in this regard. Well, Israel did send a warning to Hamas through Egyptian mediators early this morning, warning them against getting involved in the conflict in August of 2022. During that operation, we didn't see them getting involved. What kind of stakes are in it at this time, at this point around? Last August, we saw Israeli forces take out Tassid Al-Jabari, one senior commander in the PIJ. This time it's three, along with some of their wives, along with children, civilians among the dead. So is Hamas more obliged to respond now? Exactly. I mean, this time we're talking about a higher number, and we are talking about some civilians that were killed as well. And in the very same time, we are dealing with a very broad operation in the Nablus. And we have to remember that Hamas has also some internal and domestic political pressures from the Palestinian Islamic jihad. I assume that from Iran as well, and from at least part of the local population. And Hamas will have to maneuver and will have to balance its strategic interests vis-à-vis the other interests and the other pressures that I have just mentioned. And to decide what will be the most appropriate retaliation or response from their side. And I hope that they will not miscalculate in this regard because otherwise we might find ourselves in a broad violent cycle, not only in the Gaza Strip, but also in the West Bank and maybe beyond. Kobi Mihail joining us live this morning. Thank you. Let's head now to the South, where I-24 news correspondent Pia Stechelbach is live near the border with Gaza. Pia, talk to us about the atmosphere there. You recently reported that the schools were not in session. The bomb shelters were open. What's the latest? Well, Hamas, this really seems to be the calm before the storm. I'm standing here in front of a battery of the iron door missile defense system. The Israeli army and the home front command are getting ready for possible multi-day escalation. The iron dome is prepared to catch possible rockets coming from the Gaza Strip. Hamda, as you said, the schools are closed today, but also because it is the Jewish holiday of Lakhbaoma, but also other educational institutions will be closed. Residents who are living in areas up to 25 miles away from the Gaza border are advised to stay close to their shelters. There are several roads which will be blocked. Some train services are suspended. Not only for this day, but this special instructions are in place until tomorrow at 6 p.m. So, really, we're here expecting an escalation to start possibly after the funeral of the three Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders, which were killed by Israel during the night. This funeral is about to take place at 10 a.m. this morning, so in less than an hour. Now, the residents are advised to stay close to shelters and they're getting ready, but these people here are prepared for rounds of escalations. This is also a week after the last military escalation between Israel and Gaza started. Last Tuesday, the Palestinian prisoner, Khadr Adnan, died in Israeli custody after a more than 80-day hunger strike. He was a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad member from the West Bank. That caused rocket fire from Gaza. More than 100 rockets were fired into Israel. Israel retaliated targeting weapon manufacturers in Gaza and other Hamas infrastructure. Now, we're hearing from the Israeli security establishment that this operation that we have seen yesterday night or tonight was planned since the weekend, but due to weather conditions and also keep in mind, schools are closed because of the holiday today. Anyway, this operation was postponed until now. Now, residents after last week, Israel agreed to ceasefire less than 48 hours after the beginning of last week's escalation. Residents were quite unhappy with what they conceived as an Israeli weak response. Last week, we heard residents from the cities like Stirot, which are close to the border and have to deal with military escalations quite regularly, that they voted for this right-wing government because they ran with a promise to show harsh force against Palestinian militants. This is what we have seen. Now, Betzeler Smotrych, Israeli finance minister from the religious Zionism party, he said that he thanks the residents of the south for their patience and for their trust in the Israeli military establishment to give them the trust that they would react at the suitable point of time. This is what we've seen now. Now, the residents here are getting ready for an escalation. Also on the Gaza side, we have seen at least 12 people killed in this operation yesterday night, three PIJ commanders but also family members sent to children. Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in this world, so every Israeli reaction will have to take into account that there will also be civilians hurt in Gaza. Of course, also on this side, people, as I said, are advised to say as close as possible to shelters throughout the day, throughout the night and also throughout the tomorrow. Schools will also remain close tomorrow as well as other educational institutions. So people are getting ready for an escalation that might remain or that might go on for several days. But as of now, it is still calm, but it is a very, very tense and volatile calm, Hamda. I-24 News correspondent Pia Steglbacher live for us in the south. Thank you. If you're just joining us, Airstrikes in Gaza this morning, as Israeli forces began a new operation dubbed Arrow and Shield, we're going to bring you expert analysis from all across the boards. Our correspondence spread throughout the country and here in studio. We're going to take a quick break for you now. You're looking at live images of the Gaza Strip where that bombardment took place. The Israeli military saying that their initial objectives were reached, but that this round is not yet over. This is I-24 News. Stay with us. Religion, entertainment to the latest trends and everything in between. Join me each week as we explore the global Jewish diaspora. Don't miss Jewish World Weekly only on I-24 News. Being able to see into the future. Meet the people changing our planet and discover the inventions shaping tomorrow. Israel Business Beat, Sundays and Wednesdays, 9.30pm GMT. Go to VivaTech in Paris this June. VivaTech is Europe's biggest startup and tech event. This is where business meets innovation. Jumpstart business deals with the leaders in tech. Discover cutting edge innovation. Meet the brightest minds changing the world. Is it worth it? Weren't you listening? It's the number one startup and tech event in Europe. Be there. Welcome back to this breaking news edition of the broadcast from the I-24 News Desk. I want to bring in our panel now Guy Azriel, correspondent and managers of our broadcast here and Rafael Yerushelmi, former senior intelligence officer for the Israeli military. Rafael, I want to begin with you. Last week, I was hearing from sources inside Gaza and continuously reporting that should Israel carry out these targeted assassinations, there is a plethora of young men ready to take on these leadership roles. So even though Israel takes out the senior commanders and then there are these minor escalations for two, three days at a time, the leadership is constantly getting replaced. What's the move now? So these people that have been eliminated will be eventually replaced but the replacements will not have either the experience or the charisma of some of them. These three ones were very, very experienced veteran terrorist leaders. Their elimination will cause a blow to the faction. It will take quite a while before they can regroup and reorganize. They were not expecting that kind of a blow, not that hard. And I think they are surprised and they have to see what's going to happen now. So the fact that they will be replaced or not replaced is not going to change much. There is a problem now. There's a regrouping. Most of the others that are on the list of eliminations are in the bunkers. They're in hiding so they cannot really operate properly. And the unknown now is more what is going to happen with the Hamas, meaning because there is now a lack in the leadership and especially the military leadership of the Islamic jihad, then there's more despondency on what the Hamas will decide. Will the Hamas give instructions? Will the Hamas just close their eyes and let the Islamic jihad operate as they wish? Or is there a division? Maybe there's a disagreement between the two. That's what the Israelis are working on or hoping for to divide between the two. There will be a lot of signal, psychological, mediate signal sent by the terrorists to Israel saying that we're going to destroy you. We're going to regroup very quickly. Your citizens are going to be targeted, etc. That's the unusual rhetoric of the terrorists, but I can assure you that behind that rhetoric of vengeance and cataclysm, they are really in a spot and they did not expect such a surgical successful strike. And I do want to add to what my colleague just said here is that what is important here is the message that Israel is sending. For quite a few weeks, maybe months now, the Israeli reactions were quite moderate. And that was something that has been interpreted, both in Gaza, but also elsewhere, as weakness of Israel at this point of time. We also heard that even from the Iranian president, Ibrahim Rahisi, on his visits to Beirut and his meetings with senior members of both Islamic Jihad and Hamas. And part of the reason, according to these terror leaders, was the fact that Israel is in some sort of an internal turmoil, calls to perhaps refuse to serve in the IDF as they saw that. And I think that what has unfolded last night really shows that when it comes to Israel's security, those internal divides are almost meaningless as these pilots, those security officials, those intelligence officers are all operating when needed to protect Israel, to carry out such a bold operation overnight. And I think that is the important point here, the strong message that the Israeli government wants to send, not just to the Islamic Jihad, but also to all of its enemies in the region. And Rafael, the Israeli security apparatus is bracing for a few days of fighting. Sources inside Gaza say that they are prepared for war. What can Israel expect during these next three days? Anything. And we are prepared for everything, meaning that in the coming hours they could be just a salvo of honor, a saving face, a few shots of missiles towards Israel. And that's it. To the other end of the scope, which would be an all-out conflict with not only the Hamas joining the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, but many operations being led from Judea and Samaria to hit settlers or Israelis inside Israel. And even if Tehran gives the order, the Hezbollah also getting involved and the northern front starting again. So, you see that the scope is very wide. The spokesman of the IDF has said, and we can believe him, that the IDF is ready for all this kind of scenario. Everything is open. And right now there are a lot of drones and high-flying aircraft over Gaza, making sure that they can spot in time whatever cell might want to deploy and start shooting missiles at Israel. The inhabitants of the south have been warned. But so far, there is not an alert towards the north. I think the northern place in Israel that opened the shelters is, we shall let's see on. Meaning, we're talking now on alert 40 kilometers from the Gaza border inside Israel, not the whole of the country. But this could also happen. The coming hours will tell us right now the instructions from the internal front have been given from today until tomorrow evening, six o'clock. And of course, tomorrow evening, six o'clock, there will be a reassessment of what is going on. We also have a meeting of the security cabinets to assess also the situation. Really, right now it seems that the Israeli side has achieved what they wanted, the goal that they wanted. Most of it they suppressed whoever they wanted to suppress and they destroyed what they wanted to destroy. The message, as you said, was clear and loud. And now the other side has the initiative. We have to wait and see what they will say, but we're ready to answer any of their action. Rafael Urshami and Guy Azrael, we're going to keep you here in studio, but turn now to our defense correspondent, Jonathan Rega, live for us on the phone. Jonathan, the country's defense minister, okaying for the army to call up reservist troops as needed. Talk to us about the developments. Reservists mostly from the air defense units, the air defense being mostly iron dome, understanding that they will be needed in the coming days, understanding that Israel can't expect the barrage of rockets. Don't expect the quiet that we've seen in the five or six hours or so since this operation began. Don't expect it to last a lot longer. Yislamic jihad and possibly the Hamas as well, contemplating how exactly to react. And we will see barrages of rockets, large barrages of rockets towards Israel. Last time, not only the Gaza border communities and the cities of Derot and Ashkelom, which are close by, but also further inland, possibly to Ashdod, possibly to Bershiba in southern Israel, and even possibly further north, yes, the area of Tel Aviv might be targeted as well in order to be able to respond to all of these barrages. Israel needs the personnel to activate the iron dome system. These are the reservists that are being called as of now, or perhaps there's the possibility of them to be called. The problem for Israel is that it is not exactly clear where this is going. It is not exactly clear at this moment if Israel will be dealing only with the Yislamic jihad or with Hamas. These are two completely different stories, which will demand a completely different kind of answer also regarding reservists, which you asked now in the table, perhaps have turned compared with previous instances in which it is Hamas, the Yislamic jihad initiating and Israel responding. This time Israel has initiated now, of course, we have to wait and see what kind of response comes from Gaza. I-24 News Defense correspondent Jonathan Regev lie for us on the phone. Thank you. I want to turn back to our panel now in studio, Ref Ali Ruchelmi and Guy Azriel. Guy, talk to us about some of the political implications of this operation, reaction we're hearing from lawmakers as well. Right, so this operation has been taking part during some rift within the Israeli government, and that came after the very moderate response of the IDF following those rocket barrages on Tuesday last week, over 100 rockets fired by Islamic jihad. And that caused some factions of the government, namely from the Jewish power party, that of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Kvir, to sanction votings in the Knesset to set up a makeshift office in the city of Sterot, but one member of parliament. And for rhetoric that was not comfortable for Netanyahu, as we hear Itamar Ben Kvir was not part of these planned operations overnight, but he is sending a response this morning saying, I congratulate the Prime Minister on the proactive activity in Gaza. This is a good start. The time has come to change the policy vis-a-vis Gaza. But we're also hearing from the opposition, namely from the opposition leader, Yair Lapid, who says today, I back the security forces for the operation against Islamic jihad, the terrorist organizations in Gaza. Know this morning that the intelligence community and the security forces are following their every move and that they will pay for their action, a strong Israeli response at a time and place that is convenient for us is the way to deal with terrorism from Gaza. So this is not surprising as we've seen this in the past whenever a military escalation does take part. The opposition normally backs the government, perhaps keeping all the differences, and there are such wide differences as we know, keeping them apart away for now. Yair Lapid also canceled a planned speech for tonight, and we're also hearing that he will actually meet with Netanyahu tomorrow morning for a security update. It will be very interesting to see what comes out of that meeting. We do not expect this escalation to bring any of the forces in the opposition closer to this government. This is just a matter of rhetoric showing their support for the IDF, for the security forces, and in this case for the government as it operates to protect Israeli citizens as they see it. Yes, please. We've got about two minutes left. If I may add, it is the first time in the history of Israel that the cabinet security has not been convened. I think that also happened last year during the Lapid government, but that is still exceptional. In a way that here there was a mistrust. It's very bad to see that the prime minister and the minister of defense do not trust all of the ministers of the cabinet, and they prefer to keep it secret from them as well, which is quite disquieting, I would say. So maybe it's the second time it is still disquieting. The Attorney General actually authorized the prime minister to take that step, meaning to start the operation without convening the security cabinet. So it's a bit of a problem for the continuation of the operation. We'll see how much trust or mistrust there is in this government, because the coming days are going to be quite problematic and some decisions will have to be taken. Will they be again taken in secret between the minister of defense and the prime minister, or will it be more open? As you say, it seems to me that the prime minister today could rely much more on the opposition support than on his own troops, because the tradition in Israel is, of course, that we should all be united in the times of difficulty. And I'm sure that one of the ministers, Mr. Ben-Gvir, will find a way to get some credit, like he would say, he put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu and that's why, et cetera. So that's politics. Raphael Urshami and Guy Azrael joined me live in studio on all the breaking news. Thank you. That's it for this special edition of the broadcast from the I-24 News Desk. I'm Hamdus El-Hut in Tel Aviv.