TEL AVIV - Israel entered a state of emergency Tuesday morning (Nov 12) as authorities expect several days of fighting in the Gaza Strip after the killing of a high-ranking Palestinian Islamist.
It was one of those targeted actions Israel's army is well known for.
Rockets hit a specific bedroom in a three-storey house in Sadjaijah, Gaza, and killed Baha Abu al Ata, a high-ranking commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and his wife as they were sleeping in bed.
The explosions at four in the morning ended a relatively long ceasefire enjoyed by large parts of Israel. The PIJ promptly declared war on Israel, saying in an official communique: "We vow that our reaction will be as limitless as the crime of our enemy was severe."
Palestinians fired more than 150 missiles before evening as air-raid sirens ripped through many Israel cities. Schools and jobs south of Tel Aviv were closed and public transport was shut down.
In Israel, some are wondering whether only operational considerations motivated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give the green light for the targeted assassination, or whether he was pursuing political interests?
According to army spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, Mr Abu al Ata was "a ticking bomb", planning a major assault "with foot soldiers, snipers, mines, grenades, and missiles" in the immediate future, that could be prevented only by using deadly force.
The army had warned Mr Abu al Ata for weeks through the media, but he ignored its warnings, leaving "us no other option", Mr Conricus claimed.
Mr Abu al Ata has been known to Israel's intelligence services for more than a decade.
They hold him responsible for many attacks, some of which caused the deaths of Israelis. In the past year, rocket volleys fired by his fighters repeatedly violated a ceasefire Israel had agreed on with the radical Islamic Hamas that rules Gaza.
Mr Abu al Ata's attacks also challenged Hamas' rule in the besieged strip by showing it failed to control him. Now, Israel used a rare opportunity to eliminate him.
Someone else was also supposed to die on Tuesday. Syrian media reported an almost simultaneous attack on a residential building in Damascus, targeting the apartment of Akram al Ajouri, Mr Abu al Ata's superior in the PIJ.
The attack missed its target, killing another PIJ operative and Mr Al Ajouri's son. Army spokesman Conricus said Israel did not want to "resume the strategy of targeted killings." In the past, this tactic has provoked bloody reprisals. For years, the army's leadership has refrained from using it.
A representative of the opposition party Blue and White said Mr Netanyahu, in ordering the attack in Gaza, was motivated by political considerations and not out of concern for Israel's security.
Israel is trapped in one of the worst government crises in its history. Mr Netanyahu has not been able to form a coalition after two elections this year.
For the first time in 10 years, an opposition leader was given the mandate to form a government and Mr Benny Gantz still has nine days to form a coalition.
In the face of his dire prospects, he allegedly ponders forming a minority government with the support of Arab parties from the outside. Bloody clashes with Palestinians in Gaza could quickly undermine this idea.
Israel's Arab politicians categorically reject the use of force, even if in self-defence. As long as missiles keep raining on Israel's cities, even Mr Gantz's most liberal supporters are unlikely to favour even an informal alliance with politicians who call Israeli soldiers murderers.
Mr Gantz, however, does not seem to believe the conspiracy theories from his own camp. He supported the targeted assassination, claiming he was informed of the impending attack ahead of time.
The political leadership and the army had "taken the right decision for the safety of Israeli citizens and residents of the South," the former Chief of General wrote on Twitter.
If the past is to serve as a guide for the future, Israel and Gaza probably face several days of missile attacks and Israeli retaliation from the air.
But things could quickly spin out of control and evolve into a full-scale war should one of these strikes inadvertently kill civilians, or if the far more powerful Hamas decides to become involved in the fighting.
