Gaza- Despite its picturesque nature, residents of the Gaza Strip think “a lot” before making the decision to move to the village of “Wadi Gaza,” or what is known locally as “Juhr al-Deek,” which is considered one of the most dangerous areas during wars and confrontations, due to its adhesion to the security fence that Israel has erected along the entire length of the Gaza Strip. the border.
This village separates the northern and central Gaza Strip, which makes it the gateway to Israeli incursions, and one of the first areas to be destroyed.
As soon as the first signs of any anticipated Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip appear, the village residents rush to pack their belongings and flee their homes and farms before they are destroyed by the occupation forces. This is what happened as the beginning of the horrific, brutal war that Israel has been waging since October 7.
Despite the absence of all the necessary elements for a successful armed struggle in it, and the concentration of large forces of occupation forces on its lands since the beginning of this war, the village is witnessing many successful operations launched by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, which raises the astonishment of observers.
The Al-Qassam Brigades published many videos of operations launched by its fighters inside Juhr al-Dik, which resulted in the killing and wounding of dozens of occupation soldiers, especially during this week.
Juhr al-Dik is about 8 kilometers south of Gaza, and is characterized by its plain nature. Its area of influence is about 6,200 dunams, and its population is about 5,000 people.
The secret of the resistance’s success
Writer and political analyst Yasser Abu Hain from Gaza explains the success of the Al-Qassam Brigades – in directing these successive and painful strikes against the occupation inside its fortified barracks in Juhr Al-Dik – by many factors. He told Tel Aviv Tribune Net that the first of these factors is “the fighters’ belief in their right and that they are defending their land, honor and honor.”
The second factor is “the Qassam Brigades’ early realization of the danger of this area, as it is considered a soft and weak side of the Strip, and therefore it was equipped with many powerful components, especially offensive and complex tunnels.”
The third factor – according to Abu Hein – is that this area is a stronghold of the Hamas movement, saying, “Historically, there are many active Qassam cadres who belong to the village, which has given Hamas an established and strong presence there.”
In general, Abu Hin believes that the resistance’s performance in a small, limited, “militarily fallen” area such as Juhr al-Dik provides a model for what the resistance is doing in other areas, especially populated areas with a strong infrastructure of tunnels and hiding places.
Supply from surrounding areas
Writer and political analyst Wissam Afifa is trying to provide additional explanations for why Al-Qassam was able to direct these painful strikes inside this village.
He told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “In my estimation, Juhr al-Dik receives supplies from nearby areas, especially the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, and the Bureij and Nuseirat camps in the middle of the Strip.”
Afifa continued, “The location of the village between the center and the north of the Gaza Strip helped it move Al-Qassam members from Gaza and the Central Governorate to it to assist the fighters in the village.”
Last Friday, the occupation army ordered the residents of Al-Bureij camp, Al-Mughraqa village, and surrounding areas to evacuate their homes immediately, and began launching random raids and shelling.
Afifa continued, “It seems that the occupation is trying to reduce the ability of other regions to support and supply Juhr al-Dik.”
Absorb the first hit
Afifa offers a second explanation for the strength of the resistance in the village, which is the adoption of plans based on absorbing the first blow of the occupation, especially the belts of fire and “the scorched earth policy aimed at eliminating or expelling the resistance.”
He added, “After Al-Qassam absorbed the first strike, and the occupation forces penetrated the area and destroyed it, the fighters set off to surprise the enemy, kill him, and target his command and control rooms.”
Another explanation offered by Afifa is that the fighters benefited from the withdrawal of the Israeli air force during the ground invasion, as it did not operate as usual for fear of harming the occupation forces on the ground with friendly fire.
He continued, “This deportation helped the fighters from getting close to the occupation’s vehicles and soldiers, and they turned into something like ghosts, leaving to attack the occupation from where they least expected.”
Complex attack tunnels
Despite the importance of the previous factors, Afifa believes that the main reason for the strength of the resistance may be that “Al-Qassam possesses a unique tunnel network with a special design method that helps it achieve its goals.”
He added, “It is clear that Al-Qassam benefited greatly from the potential of the land, especially the tunnels, to compensate for the absence of homes in agricultural areas that were used as a launching base in other residential areas.”
He continued, “Most of the video scenes released by Al-Qassam show fighters launching from underground, and not from destroyed homes, which indicates that they have complex attack tunnels.”
They put bullets in the heads of the Zionist soldiers.
Powerful scenes show part of the battle in which the Mujahideen of the Qassam Brigades killed 10 soldiers and withdrew peacefully from Juhr al-Dik, east of the central region in the Gaza Strip. #Al-Aqsa Flood pic.twitter.com/DeOXclL1Zv
– Radwan Al-Akhras (@rdooan) December 16, 2023
The residents’ legendary resilience
Abu Muhammad – who inherited an orchard of about 40 dunums in the village that his father bought during the 1970s – says that the residents’ survival despite the occupation’s measures is “a legendary story of steadfastness.”
It is noteworthy that their lands and homes are destroyed in every war or escalation, but they rebuild them again.
The citizen – who preferred not to mention his full name, told Tel Aviv Tribune Net – that his land was destroyed 4 times, starting from the 2008 war until the current war.
He explained that in 2014, the occupation completely destroyed the village’s homes and bulldozed most of its lands.
Abu Muhammad added that Juhr al-Dik witnessed a period of prosperity after the 2014 war, as residents reconstructed it in addition to building a residential neighborhood with funding from Turkey, but “the occupation returned during this war, and destroyed everything.”