Jordan blasts Israel assault on besieged Gaza for 'targeting innocent civilians'

Jordan's foreign ministry condemned the brutal Israeli attack on the besieged Gaza Strip as violent tensions escalate.

The ministry spokesman Daifallah Fayez said Israel's targeting of innocent civilians will lead to a spike tension and violence in the already volatile region.

"The Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip and targeting of innocent civilians will only increase tension and violence, deepen despair and promote extremist agendas in the region, and will not lead to any solutions," he said.

He held Israel to account for the spike in violence and urged for dialogue and lifting the brutal blockade on the besieged Gaza Strip to move forward with a political solution.

"The solution to the problem in the Gaza Strip lies in finding a real political horizon through returning to the negotiating table between Israel and Palestine, lifting the unjust blockade on the enclave, promptly addressing the humanitarian needs there and respecting the international law."

Read more: Baha Abu al-Ata: Who was the secretive Islamic Jihad leader assassinated by Israel? 

Tensions escalated between Gaza and Israel after Israel's military killed a commander of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in a strike on his home in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Islamic Jihad's armed wing announced the death of the commander in Gaza City after Israel confirmed it had targeted Baha Abu Al-Ata, 42, in a strike. The group said Ata's wife was also killed.

The attack prompted retaliatory rocket fire and fears of a severe escalation in violence. Gaza's health ministry places the current toll at eightee, with at least 50 wounded.

Islamic Jihad is the second most-powerful militant group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas.

Meanwhile, Jordan's King Abdullah on Monday toured an annex recently reclaimed from Israel - the first time in over a quarter of a century the lands have come under Amman's control.

Israel gained control of the Baqura and Al-Ghamr annexes - known as Naharayim and Tzofar by Israelis - from Jordan for a period of 25 years, as part of the Wadi Araba peace agreement that ended hostilities between the two countries.

Israel appears to have expected Amman would renew the leases or sell the land.

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