The 260th day of the Israeli war on Gaza witnessed field developments, especially in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli occupation forces committed two massacres, in the Beach Camp (west) and the Al-Tuffah neighborhood (east) of Gaza City, resulting in the martyrdom of more than 40 Palestinians and the injury of dozens.
In his reading of these developments, the military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, said that the bombing operations carried out by the occupation forces in various areas of the Gaza Strip fall within the scope of targeting Palestinian movements through drones, satellites, or voice calls, indicating that there is fire. Artillery, called “nuisance fire,” is fired by the occupation army to create an unstable situation in the areas targeted by bombing.
Regarding the occupation forces’ intensification of their military operations in the southern Gaza Strip, Colonel Al-Falahi did not rule out – in an analysis of the military scene in Gaza – that this escalation is related to what Israeli military statements say about the army’s intention to end its operations in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and declare – as it claims – its victory over Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
According to Tel Aviv Tribune’s correspondent, the Israeli occupation army blew up and destroyed a number of homes in the center and west of the city of Rafah, which led to martyrs and wounded. Meanwhile, it also continued to besiege the Saudi neighborhood in Rafah and permanently target it through air strikes and artillery shelling.
Colonel Al-Falahi said that the Israelis are talking about moving to what they call the third phase of military operations in Rafah, which will be less intense and more focused, that is, security operations similar to what the occupation army carried out in Al-Shifa Medical Hospital in Gaza City, Jabalia (north) and Nuseirat (central) of the Gaza Strip. Pointing out that this approach to operations reflects the absence of the occupation’s political and military vision.
He added that the so-called third phase is part of the preparation for the coming period, noting that the threat on the northern front with Lebanon is escalating more than before, which means that Israel may open this front, even though the Israeli army is unable to do so because of what it faces. Exhaustion, exhaustion, and weakness in combat ability.
On the one hand, Colonel Al-Falahi explained that the Palestinian resistance is targeting the occupation forces at the Rafah crossing and its surroundings with mortars and missiles because there is no possibility of direct confrontation between the two parties. He said that the occupation army is trying to maintain the Rafah and Netzarim axes and the buffer zone along the eastern, northern and southern borders all the way to the sea, and there will be Forces capable of penetrating in and out again, as is happening in the West Bank.
The military and strategic expert expected that these axes would be part of the strategy of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza in the confrontation with the occupation forces, noting that the Netzarim axis had remained under resistance fire throughout the recent period.