10/5/2024–|Last updated: 10/5/202403:34 PM (Mecca time)
The resistance factions – led by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced several specific operations east of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, in addition to other operations in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south-east of Gaza City.
Commenting on the field developments, the military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, said that Rafah has turned into a hot area, as the resistance factions began carrying out and escalating operations after the limited and rapid incursion of the occupation forces during the past two days.
Al-Falahi confirmed during his analysis for Al-Jazeera that the battles began to rage with bombardment of military crowds and ambushes, which means an increase in the number of losses among the ranks of the occupation army, after what he called a “lull in operations” in the past few days.
He pointed out that the resistance operations ranged from targeting soldiers of the occupation forces who were holed up in homes to detonating minefields and explosive devices in military vehicles, “which means that the resistance factions are conducting a successful defensive battle.”
Earlier today, Friday, the Al-Qassam Brigades said that they had placed an Israeli force in a precise ambush after detonating a pre-prepared minefield inside the “Saad Sayel” barracks site, east of Rafah, noting that the force’s members were killed and wounded.
Al-Qassam revealed that two Israeli tanks were targeted with “Al-Yassin 105” shells in the vicinity of the same barracks, and an Israeli troop carrier was destroyed and set on fire in the vicinity of the same site, in addition to hitting a third tank in the Abu Halawa area, east of Rafah.
Regarding the possibility of the occupation responding to the resistance’s bombardment with mortar shells and short-range missiles, the military expert ruled this out, because the bombing targets an area whose depth ranges between 2 and 4 kilometers, which means that any measures are not useful for confronting it.
Storming the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood
Regarding the Israeli incursion into the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, Al-Falahi stressed that the northern region of the Strip has moved into the third phase of the war, which means that major military operations in the region have ended.
He pointed out that what the occupation is doing is similar to specific security operations, considering them a response to the intensification of the resistance in recent days, sniper operations and the intensification of the bombing of the Netzarim axis, which separates the northern Gaza Strip from its center and south.
According to Al-Falahi, the occupation forces are trying to secure the forces stationed in the Netzarim axis by dealing with hotbeds of resistance that are considered a current threat.
Among the objectives of the occupation operation in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, the military expert said that the area into which the Israeli forces penetrated into the sea is considered parallel to the area that includes the American floating dock, and it is necessary to secure it.
Al-Qassam announced today, Friday, the destruction of a Merkava 4 tank with an Al-Yassin 105 shell south of the Zaytoun neighborhood, while the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, announced the detonation of a field of mines and high-explosive ground devices in a number of occupation vehicles penetrating east of the Zaytoun neighborhood. .