In a completely exposed area and the sounds of Israeli reconnaissance aircraft, “the drones,” as the people of Gaza call them, fill the place, a Qassam Brigades fighter risks his life and advances to plant a Shawaz explosive device in one of the streets of the Jalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, before he succeeds in returning to a safe point and detonating the device. Later in an Israeli Merkava tank.
Al-Qassam Camera documented this scene in a video of an aspect of the battle launched by the Israeli occupation army 26 days ago on the Jabalia camp, for the third time since the beginning of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after two invasions in December 2023 and May. 2024.
During 26 days of horrific massacres against civilians, about a thousand Palestinians were martyred, in addition to hundreds of wounded and detainees. The violent bombing also caused the destruction of entire residential neighborhoods and the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians south, according to official Palestinian figures.
Although the area of Jabalia does not exceed 1.5 square kilometers, the occupation forces put their weight into this battle in the hope of breaking the fierce Palestinian resistance in the camp, so they mobilized for this battle the Israeli 162nd Armored Division, and supported it with the 460th Armored Brigade and the Givati Brigade (special forces), meaning an estimated amount of about 50 thousand soldiers, with intense air and artillery support and modern reconnaissance aircraft.
In its third military operation on Jabalia, the occupation army adopted the “scorched earth” method of indiscriminate bombardment, fire belts, and the destruction of buildings with robots and explosive barrels, in addition to besieging residents and preventing the entry of water and food, with the aim of forcefully displacing the camp’s residents and turning northern Gaza into a security buffer zone to achieve the “generals’ plan.” Israeli.
On the other hand, the resistance adopted a “decentralization” strategy, contrary to what happened in previous ground battles. Military expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi suggested that the Jabalia Battalion had divided its fighters into cluster cells, each cell containing 3 to 5 fighters, with its commander choosing targets based on field data. .
Despite the intensity of Israeli fire and its reliance on a new strategy, which was to besiege Jabalia Camp with a full armored brigade, meaning approximately 111 tanks, to prevent the Palestinian resistance in Gaza City and the towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun from supporting Jabalia, the resistance succeeded in destroying dozens of Israeli tanks.
In a major strike, the Palestinian resistance succeeded in assassinating the commander of the 401st Brigade of the Israeli army, Colonel Ihsan Daqsa, along with a number of officers in an ambush with an explosive device that directly targeted them in Jabalia.
With the escalation of resistance attacks, the occupation forces were forced, after 25 days of fighting, to withdraw the 460th Armored Brigade from Jabalia. They also redeployed forces in northern Gaza, where they withdrew their forces from residential neighborhoods and contented themselves with besieging the area from all sides while intensifying their air and artillery bombardment of Jabalia, according to Radio. Israeli army.
🎥 “Your calls for resistance, there is nothing but strength astray in the north.”
🔴 Despite the siege, starvation, and hospitals and medical centers exhausting their services, the resistance continues in the northern Gaza Strip, defending alone in the face of the world’s silence and failure.#North_Gaza_Tabad #Gaza_genocide pic.twitter.com/BELv3sNYNf
– Abdullah Al-Astal (@Abomalekalastal) October 28, 2024
Strategic battle
Commenting on the battle, Palestinian political analyst Saeed Ziad said, “These hungry, tired heroes, whose families have been torn apart by killing and displacement, and who can barely find food for their day, nor a roof to sleep under, nor security hours that give them rest without fear or anxiety, are the ones who are making our history today.” And the history of the entire nation.
He added in a tweet on the website
In turn, Palestinian politician and academic Fayez Abu Shamala believes that the northern Gaza Strip has been a hotbed of resistance for many years, and from there hundreds of shells were launched towards enemy settlements, being the closest to Israeli cities. It was subjected to several Israeli attempts to empty it of population, the most prominent of which was led by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel. Sharon.
In an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Abu Shamala believes that the current confrontation in Jabalia is strategic and fateful for both sides of the conflict. Israel’s success in controlling the north and emptying the place of residents means isolating a third of the Gaza Strip and an important victory for the Israeli army in the war.
He confirms that Israel will not be victorious this time in northern Gaza due to Palestinian steadfastness. Despite nearly a month having passed since the beginning of the battle and the stifling siege, the resistance continues to attack Israeli tanks and snip at soldiers.
Long battle
“The occupation army expects that the military operation in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip will continue for several months, as it is the main center of gravity of the Palestinian resistance in northern Gaza,” with these words, the military and strategic expert Elias Hanna expressed his perception of the nature of the battle.
Hanna points out – during the military analysis section – that the main goal is to isolate the camp from the rest of the northern region in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the size of the forces participating in the operation reflects the importance of the goal to the occupation, as almost an entire military division was placed in the area alongside the Givati Infantry Brigade. “Which indicates that the goal of the operation is very large, and requires a huge military force.”
In his analysis of the broader Israeli goals, Hanna pointed out the existence of a specific plan based on destruction and displacement, and added that this plan, which is called the “Generals’ Plan,” aims to displace the Palestinians and force them to move to the south of the Gaza Strip, allowing the occupation to control the entire northern region and eliminate There is no resistance there.
Hanna believes that the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip has become a matter of life and death for the Palestinian resistance, expressing his conviction that the goal is “not to lose the region, and to enter into a battle of attrition with the occupation.”
Hanna recalled that Jabalia camp has been accustomed to Israeli military operations for many years. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stormed the camp in 1971, leaving widespread destruction. The camp has also been subjected to three violent bombings since the beginning of the current war, where bombs weighing about two thousand pounds were used. , which led to dozens of civilian casualties.
Palestinian-Israeli observers and specialists estimate that the battle in Jabalia represents great importance in terms of the possibility of displacing the citizens of the entire Gaza Strip or not. If the displacement plan succeeds in annihilation in the Jabalia camp, as Israel wants, this will allow it to be applied to the rest of the northern regions and Gaza City later.