The Palestinian resistance confronted Israeli troops in fierce battles in north Gaza’s city of Jabalia on 16 May.
“Qassam Mujahideen attacked the rear lines of forces invading east of the city of Jabalia, and blew up two D9 bulldozers with a Tandum shell and [an explosive device],” Hamas’ military wing said in a statement on Thursday. Earlier, it said it targeted and destroyed an Israeli Merkava tank east of Jabalia with an explosive device, killing and wounding its crew. The Qassam Brigades also “destroyed a Zionist troop carrier with an Al-Yassin 105 shell, leaving its crew dead and wounded in the Block 2 area of Jabalia Camp, north of the Gaza Strip.” Other groups, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement’s Quds Brigades, are also engaged in the fighting.
As clashes between the army and resistance rage across Jabalia, Israel has stepped up its indiscriminate bombardment of the city.
“In the last couple of hours, we have recorded a clear surge in bombardment, not only on residential buildings, but also on the camp’s central market. The place is very densely populated,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported.
Al Jazeera added that an Israeli drone strike targeted a kindergarten in the Jabalia camp, injuring at least five Palestinians. Israeli forces also targeted an ambulance and injured a number of medics.
Jabalia camp is now the “main battle zone,” Abu Azzoum said.
Citing Israeli soldiers, Haaretz reported on 14 May that troops currently fighting in Jabalia are frustrated to be back in northern Gaza, where resistance fighters remain entrenched several months after Tel Aviv claimed it “dismantled” Hamas. The soldiers also say they are having to adapt to the changing tactics of resistance fighters, who have increasingly been rigging buildings with explosives and detonating them with Israeli troops inside. Traditional tactics, including RPG attacks on tanks and vehicles, sniping operations, and mortar attacks on troop concentrations, continue to be deployed. The Qassam Brigades have released several videos over the past few days showcasing their operations against troops in Jabalia.
The Palestinian resistance is also confronting Israeli forces in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah. Israeli forces seized the Rafah border crossing to Egypt on 7 May and began pushing into the city under the cover of heavy and indiscriminate bombardment.
Hundreds of thousands have been forcibly displaced by the operation, which has also severely hindered efforts to bring aid into Gaza.
The Qassam Brigades “targeted a Zionist Merkava tank with an Al-Yassin 105 shell, south of Al-Mashrou’ Junction, east of the city of Rafah,” the group said on Wednesday afternoon.
