Palestinian Resistance Factions Intensify Operations in Netzarim

By Al Mayadeen English

31 Oct 2024 23:00

The Palestinian Resistance factions are repelling the invading Israeli occupation forces in northern Gaza, where fierce confrontations have been taking place for weeks.

Palestinian resistance groups launched a series of attacks targeting Israeli military positions and vehicles in the Gaza Strip on Thursday as the IOF's siege and deadly airstrikes intensify in northern Gaza.

The al-Mujahideen Brigades, the military wing of the Mujahideen movement, announced it struck an Israeli command and control center at the Netzarim axis with multiple Hasib 111 rockets. 

In a statement, Abu Khaled, spokesperson for the Martyr Omar al-Qassem Forces, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), said, "Various Palestinian resistance wings continue to confront Israeli forces in the northern Gaza sector with appropriate weaponry, resisting attempts to impose control over the area and displace its residents."

The spokesperson pointed out that the occupation forces are compelled to retreat as their losses mount, driving them to retaliate against the Palestinian people by systematically destroying buildings and homes and continuing to demolish what remains of the infrastructure in the area.

Abu Khaled also confirmed that the artillery unit of the Martyr Omar al-Qassem Forces continues to shell occupation sites and groupings with heavy mortar rounds near the Salah al-Din Gate, along the boundary between Gaza and Egyptian territory to the south, inflicting losses on the occupation forces.

Israeli vehicles destroyed en masse

Simultaneously, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, destroyed an Israeli armored personnel carrier with an anti-tank shell west of Jabalia’s civil defense headquarters. They also reported the destruction of an Israeli Merkava tank with two high-explosive devices near Jabalia.

Al-Qassam previously announced the destruction of four Merkava tanks, an armored personnel carrier, and two Israeli military bulldozers (D9) in Beit Lahia on Wednesday.

Upon returning from the front lines, the al-Qassam fighters confirmed targeting a third Merkava with an al-Yassin 105 shell in the Beit Lahia project area as well.

Additionally, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for destroying an Israeli armored vehicle by detonating a pre-planted Thaqib explosive device in the al-Atatra area in northern Gaza.

In the same area, the al-Qassam fighters detonated an Israeli armored personnel carrier and targeted a Merkava 3 tank with two Shawaz explosive devices. Subsequently, the fighters targeted a maintenance crew advancing toward the vehicles' locations using an anti-personnel device that left several casualties and injuries among the occupation forces.

The Israeli military confirmed that four of its soldiers were injured in Gaza over the past 24 hours. Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that Hamas targeted a residence shortly after Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi left it, following a field assessment with Israeli forces engaged in operations in northern Gaza. A missile was reportedly fired at the residence during Halevi’s visit, narrowly missing him.

Haaretz also reported an increase in Israeli soldier fatalities in Gaza last month, primarily due to explosive devices detonating within buildings. October saw 17 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, with 11 of them reportedly dying from IEDs hidden inside buildings rather than by anti-tank missiles.