The Palestinian movement Hamas has managed to rehabilitate itself both militarily and financially, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Monday, quoting an Israeli military source.
The source, who is involved in the reinvasion, for the third time, of the Shejaiya neighborhood in Gaza City said that Hamas has established dozens of fighting positions in the area, especially in the places where Israeli forces conducted military operations six months ago.
Last Wednesday, the Israeli army announced the start of a surprise ground operation in the Shejaiya to, according to its own claims, dismantle the Hamas infrastructure, which is still active there.
It said that the operation was based on intelligence information indicating the presence of militants and military infrastructure in the area.
The resistance in Shejaiya seemed as organized as it was during the first Israeli invasion, raising questions about the purpose, or futility of the Israeli war.
The Israeli army claimed that it “has identified how Hamas has recovered in Gaza City in recent months in terms of governance, which was reflected not only militarily,” Yedioth Ahronoth wrote.
Al-Qassam fighters confronting the enemy vehicles invading Shejaiya neighborhood in Gaza City.
Translation Notes:
0:17 – "We are waiting for the enemy. Until now, we are waiting for the enemy. Blessed is Shejaiya in what it has birthed. We have set up an ambush for them, God… pic.twitter.com/ww0fEFA8z1— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) July 1, 2024
Hamas “has even managed to repay the salaries of its operatives and recruit hundreds of new militants, some of whom are now clashing with (Israeli occupation) forces in a raid in Shejaiya,” it added.
The Israel Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) quoted military sources as saying that the army’s operation in Shejaiya would last several weeks and that it aimed to gather information to recover Israeli captives in the hands of the Resistance.
KAN claimed that during the Shujaiya operation, the army found documents that would help determine the fate of the detainees.
Military analyst, Maj. Gen. Fayez al-Duwairi told Al-Jazeera that resistance factions in the Shejaiya carried out an average of “12 distinct operations every 24 hours since the Israeli occupation army began its military operation in the neighborhood.”
Ongoing Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 37,900 Palestinians have been killed, and 87,060 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
