The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group is eager to bring the current round of fighting in and around Gaza to an end before it suffers too much damage.

But it wants to do so in a way that paints it as the victor.

After firing over 500 rockets at southern and central Israel yesterday, PIJ via Egypt issued ceasefire demands to Israel. In addition to halting its strikes on PIJ positions in Gaza, Israel must:

• Halt the targeted killing of PIJ leaders both in Gaza and the so-called “West Bank” (Judea and Samaria);
• Return the body of PIJ leader Khader Adnan who died earlier this week in an Israeli prison after a long hunger strike;
• Cancel the traditional Flag March that marks Jerusalem Day, the celebration of the city’s reunification under Israeli rule.

Israel didn’t just say no, it punctuated its rejection of the demands with an overnight precision airstrike that took out Ali Ghali, the head of PIJ’s rocket forces, at his home in the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis.

Israel is expecting another day of intense fighting, and schools in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip are closed.

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