In the face of adversity, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience and courage as they confront the relentless incursions of Israeli occupation forces.
The Jenin refugee camp, located in the north of the West Bank, became the latest battleground where Palestinian Resistance fighters valiantly protected their community against the overwhelming terror of the Israeli military.
Israeli occupation forces launched a military operation at dawn on Monday, targeting the Jenin camp, an operation that was met with intense resistance from Palestinian fighters who were defending the camp.
According to Palestinian media, a young Palestinian man, Ashraf Muhammad Amin Ibrahim, lost his life in the early hours of dawn today in Jenin.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that Ashraf, only 37 years old, succumbed to the wounds inflicted by Israeli occupation bullets during the tumultuous events that unfolded in Jenin.
Moreover, the aggression unleashed by the Israeli occupation forces resulted in the injury of eight Palestinian civilians, as they fell victim to the indiscriminate gunfire. Additionally, two individuals were unjustly detained amidst the chaos that accompanied the occupation’s storming of Jenin. The city was besieged from various directions, creating an atmosphere of fear and anguish among its residents.
lsraeli occupation forces injure a number of Palestinians during a military raid in Jenin city. pic.twitter.com/PReESya4nD
This devastating incident serves as a stark reminder of the persistent violence and loss endured by the Palestinian people under the heavy-handed occupation. Ashraf’s untimely death is yet another painful testament to the urgent need for a just and lasting resolution that can bring an end to the cycle of violence, providing hope for a future where lives are no longer shattered by bullets and families are spared the agony of such heart-wrenching tragedies.
lsraeli military vehicle intentionally hits a Palestinian ambulance to interrupt their work during an lsraeli military raid in Jenin city. pic.twitter.com/eoYuYqbSF3
Eyewitnesses and media sources in the area reported that a substantial Israeli military contingent stormed the camp but faced strong opposition from the Al-Quds Brigades – Jenin Brigade.
Due to the fierce resistance from the Palestinian fighters, the Israeli occupation forces had to call for significant reinforcements, as mentioned in the reports.
The Al-Quds Brigades announced that their fighters engaged in intense confrontations with the occupation forces and successfully targeted several Israeli military vehicles with explosive devices near the Jenin camp and the eastern neighborhood.
In another incident, clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli occupation forces in the town of Arraba, located south of the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Several Palestinians experienced suffocation during the confrontations when Israeli forces fired tear gas bombs at the protesters.
Furthermore, Israeli occupation forces conducted an incursion into the village of Tura, situated in the Ya’bad area.
The Israeli occupation’s routine practice of launching early morning raids on Palestinian cities is part of its systematic policy aimed at terrorizing the Palestinian population.
Despite the heavy confrontations and the toll of violence, the Palestinian spirit remains unyielding, painting a vivid picture of unwavering determination and unwavering hope for a brighter future.
Just last Friday morning, Israeli occupation forces attacked the West Bank city of Qabatiya, targeting civilians and injuring a Palestinian youth. The day before, the occupation military raided the Aqabat Jaber camp in Areeha, but encountered resistance from the Palestinian Resistance, resulting in numerous casualties.
In a similar incident Israel’s occupation forces have advanced eastward of Gaza and Rafah, further encroaching upon Palestinian territory.
Palestinian sources report that the occupation forces, with the aid of bulldozers and military vehicles, pushed tens of meters into the lands east of Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood and south of Rafah’s Nahda neighborhood on Monday morning. The occupation forces carried out bulldozing operations in both areas.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 150 Palestinians, including 36 children and women, have been killed by the Israeli occupation since the beginning of the year. This includes the recent brutal Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Despite Israel’s assassinations of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s high-ranking commanders during this latest battle, the Quds Brigades was able to shift strategy by expanding its missile range, launching over 1,500 missiles, and introducing new tactics in its retaliatory strikes.
In its latest act of aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip, Israel dealt a severe blow to the resistance movement Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). High-ranking commanders, including the majority of the members of the group’s military council in Gaza, were assassinated in rapid succession during the battle.
These targeted killings sought to weaken the PIJ’s leadership structure and disrupt the organization’s command and control. However, despite these setbacks, the PIJ pulled some new tricks out of its hat, managing to expand the range of its missile strikes, which reached as far as Tel Aviv.
To gain a deeper understanding of these strategic PIJ developments and its advancements in retaliatory strikes, it is important to examine two significant past military operations: “Black Belt” (2019) and “Breaking Dawn” or “Unity of Fronts” (2022).
Learning from the past
Those two battles were triggered by the killing of prominent leaders in the PIJ’s military wing, the Quds Brigades, which appears to have further emboldened Israeli occupation forces in their policy of targeted assassinations. From Israel’s perspective, the perceived political gains outweighed the costs incurred during these two rounds of conflict.
In November 2019, following the assassination of Quds Brigades commander Baha Abu al-Ata, the fighters responded recklessly without proper planning. Rocket launchers were emotionally fired immediately after the assassination, making the missile unit vulnerable to Israeli detection.
As a result, the Quds Brigades suffered significant losses, with around 27 missile force staff members, including three field commanders, being killed. This battle also had a secondary, more dangerous consequence: It established an Israeli policy of singling out a specific resistance group, leaving the PIJ to face their fate alone without the participation of other key resistance elements like Hamas.
During the 2022 “Unity of Fronts” battle, a similar fate befell the Quds Brigades following the arrest of PIJ leader Bassam al-Saadi. Although they fired over 400 rockets at Israeli settlements in retaliation and employed improved tactics compared to the previous battle, Palestinian public opinion fell victim to Israeli propaganda.
The Israelis’ narrative portrayed the PIJ as endangering the lives of two million people in the Gaza Strip – and neglecting the plight of 4,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails – for the purpose of securing the freedom of just one person. Furthermore, when some errant rockets fell in Gaza due to technical errors, doubts were raised about the PIJ’s ability to successfully wage war independently.
Trying new tactics
But on 9 May, a significant shift occurred in the conflict. Despite the initial heavy blow from Israel’s first strike, which resulted in the loss of three prominent PIJ leaders – Khalil al-Bahtini, Tariq Ezz al-Din, and Jihad Ghanem – the movement’s response was purposefully delayed for approximately 35 hours.
This unusual stalling tactic confused Israeli calculations. During the brief lull, discussions were held between the PIJ, Hamas, and other resistance factions to ensure coordination and readiness for the upcoming fight. On 10 May, “Operation Revenge of the Free” was launched, as announced by this Joint Operations Room.
The PIJ’s initial missile response unfolded in three stages. The first stage employed a “dumping and neutralization” tactic, focusing on Israeli settlements bordering the Gaza Strip within a 15-kilometer range. These targets included Sderot, Nahal Oz, Nativ Ha’atsarah, and Kerem Shalom.
The resistance’s aim was to first deplete the batteries of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Following this, missile barrages were launched at about 30 cities, reaching depths of 20 to 75 kilometers into Israeli territory. Targets included Ashkelon, Ashdod, Beersheba, and extended all the way to Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, and Palmachim. By the end of the first day, the Quds Brigades had fired approximately 400 rockets.
Discussions in the joint command center
Amidst these developments, discussions were ongoing in the Joint Operations Room, while reports in the Arab and international media hinted at an imminent ceasefire. Egyptian news channels reported that Cairo’s intelligence efforts had led to a truce agreement between Israel and the Joint Ops Room.
This aligned with the Israeli security establishment’s assessment that the scale of retaliation would not surpass what was witnessed in the 2019 and 2022 rounds. The Israeli assessment viewed the PIJ as incapable of waging a prolonged battle, even with the involvement of smaller military factions such as the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades of the Popular Resistance Committees, The Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the National Resistance Brigades of the Omar al-Qasim Forces, and the Mujahideen Brigades.
Informed sources reveal to The Cradle that Egyptian intelligence did indeed reach an agreement of sorts with the leadership of Hamas, as a representative of the Joint Ops Room, on the first day of the conflict. However, a deal did not take place because it excluded any significant achievements for the Palestinian resistance.
During this time, Egyptian mediators attempted to establish contact with PIJ Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhala, but he did not respond to the call. Subsequently, a phone conversation took place between Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, and Nakhala. Then, at approximately 7:00 p.m. on 12 May, the Quds Brigades responded to the Egyptian proposal by launching a series of missile strikes targeting Israeli cities.
‘Deterring’ the Resistance
Despite the ongoing and surprising resilience displayed by PIJ, a statement on 14 May by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that the balance of deterrence had been altered in Israel’s favor:
“Since Guardian of the Walls [Sword of Jerusalem or Sayf al-Quds], Hamas has not fired a single rocket into our territory. They are deterred. Operation Guardian of the Walls dealt Hamas the hardest blow in its history and caused a change in the deterrence equation and it has been working for two years now.”
“Our intention in Operation Shield and Arrow was to change the balance of deterrence against Islamic Jihad. The difference comes not only because of the targeted assassinations that we have been doing for the 16 years that I have been prime minister, but that we did so so calmly and effectively. We took down half of Islamic Jihad’s leadership in a surprise blow, and the other half during the operation.”
Assassinations: A failed policy
Despite the heavy losses suffered in the initial strike, the subsequent days of fighting proved equally devastating. Israel continued its targeted assassinations, eliminating key figures such as the commander of the missile force in the Quds Brigades, Ali Hassan Ghali, and his deputy, Ahmed Abu Daqqa, followed by the assassination of Operations Staff Commander Iyad al-Hassani on the fourth day.
Remarkably, after each targeted killing, the Quds Brigades intensified its missile strikes and introduced new tactics into the battle. This had the effect of shrouding the Israeli ground forces, which had misread the PIJ’s capabilities, in the fog of war.
The Quds Brigades employed tactics such as utilizing suicide drones, anti-tank missiles, and launching intensive mortar attacks. Its intention was clear: to demonstrate through firepower and brute force that the policy of targeted assassinations had not diminished its effectiveness in the field.
Not taking the bait
A source in PIJ tells The Cradle that the Quds Brigades leadership had carefully analyzed the lessons learned from the previous two battles. According to the source, Israel’s objective was to provoke another “emotional reaction” from the Brigades, through heavy firepower. To counter the Israeli tactic, the Brigades have focused on strengthening the discipline of field fighters. “The instructions were clear: do not shoot and wait for orders.”
This discipline led to an expansion of the area of missile launch sites, which reduced the effectiveness of Israel’s technological monitoring of the firing points, and weakened the possibility of identifying and targeting them.
The source explains: “When we decide to launch 50 missiles, we do so from 10 launch points, although we are able to launch them all from one or two points. By doing so, we preserve the safety of fighters and launchers.”
According to Israeli statistics, PIJ alone fired about 1,500 missiles, “which completely paralyzed the cities of the south, and caused the evacuation of 12,000 settlers,” killing an Israeli and a foreign worker, and injuring 77 others, in addition to hundreds of minor injuries and panic attacks.
These numbers, according to Palestinian researcher Ismail Muhammad, show that the PIJ was able, during only a 10-month interim between operations “Unity of the Fronts” and “Revenge of the Free,” to rebuild its missile stockpile and to address all previous technical problems. As Muhammad tells The Cradle:
“Despite the losses at the command level, no significant field losses were recorded. Four field fighters from the artillery unit and the armor unit were martyred, while the losses in the missile unit remained zero.”
“The continued firing of missiles at the same pace until the last moment indicates that that the assassination of the commanders did not affect the effectiveness of the field, and that the Brigades were able to assign new commanders, whom Israel described after the bombing of the city of Jerusalem on the last day as crazier than their predecessors.”
Down but not out
Shortly before the ceasefire took effect, PIJ launched over 120 rockets targeting Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Palmachim, Rishon Lezion, and Rehovot. This was an attempt by the PIJ to remind Israelis that its military capabilities remained intact and plentiful and that it retained the upper hand, even though the ceasefire deal did not accurately reflect PIJ’s gains on the ground.
During the ceasefire negotiations, the PIJ was successful in persuading mediators to include the phrase “stop targeting individuals” in the agreement, signaling a halt to assassinations. However, it is widely acknowledged that Israel is unlikely to honor this commitment.
The military assessment of Operation Revenge of the Free is that it allowed the Quds Brigades to increase the cost for Israel by singling out PIJ cadres. Despite the loss of six commanders, a source confirms to The Cradle that the Brigades appointed new commanders during the battle who effectively resumed operations without missing a beat.
Predictably, Israel has already deviated from the spirit of a ceasefire by supporting the controversial Flag March of Jewish extremists through East Jerusalem, assisted and emboldened by the presence of 3,200 Israeli security forces. This visceral challenge to Palestinians represents a crucial test not only for PIJ but also for all resistance factions that have pledged to disrupt Israel’s provocative actions in Jerusalem.
The Flag March aims to project a false “image of victory” for Netanyahu and restore Israel’s deterrence – something he failed to achieve during the five-day confrontation with the second most powerful organization in the Gaza Strip in terms of strength and military capabilities, and arguably, the most militant and uncompromising in its armed struggle for national liberation.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.
Palestinians are in continuous state of resistance against daily Israeli aggression on several areas across the West Bank, amid calls to defend the holy city of Al-Quds during the provocative Israeli so-called ‘Flag March’.
Israeli occupation forces staged on Tuesday several raids and made arrests near Jericho and in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, prompting armed clashes with Palestinian resistance.
Palestinian media reported that resistance fighters opened fire at the Zionist soldiers who raided the town of Qabatiya in Jenin, and besieged a house, where resistance fighters were allegedly residing.
BREAKING: Israeli occupation forces storm Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/Usjmf6Vdxj
Al-Quds Brigades’ Qabatiya Battalion confirmed that their Mujahideen (fighters) confronted the occupation forces, reporting fierce clashes.
Three Palestinians were reportedly injured in the raid, according to Palestinian and Israeli media.
The town of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya, the Dheisheh camp in Beit Lahm, and the Aqabat Jaber camp in Areeha were also among the areas targeted.
The IOF reportedly deployed snipers in multiple buildings during their storming of Aqabat Jaber, where they arrested six members of one family.
Confrontations erupted between Palestinian Resistance fighters and the IOF during the Aqabat Jaber raid, during which a citizen was injured, and ambulance crews were prevented to reach him. In another raid, the IOF stormed the town of Al-Isawiya in occupied Al-Quds and conducted a campaign of arrests.
The IOF also moved into the town of Turmus Ayya, Ramallah, where they arrested Palestinian youth Mohammad Walid Abu Awwad from his home.
These raids come just one day after the IOF shot and killed Palestinian youth Saleh Sabra during their attempt to storm the Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
‘Flag March’
Meanwhile, Palestinian groups and activists have been mobilizing to defend Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa against Israeli provocations during the Israeli so-called ‘Flag March’ schedueled on Thursday.
Enitiled “The Great Dawn”, the calls urged Palestinians to head for Al-Aqsa at dawn in Thursday to confront the Israeli provocations planed during the provocative ‘Flag March’.
The Flag March is staged by Israeli settlers every year to mark what they call the “unification of Jerusalem”, in reference to Israeli occupation of the holy city in 1967.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the provocative parade will take place as planned in Al-Quds on Thursday, and that it will go through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu leads a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset in occupied Al-Quds (May 15, 2023).
“The flag march will continue as planned, as usual, on its route,” Netanyahu said at the outset of his Likud party’s Knesset faction meeting.
Israeli occupation Police approved the route last week, and said it plans to deploy more than 2,000 police officers to guard the march.
Senior commander Iyad Al-Hasani (Abu Anas) was martyred on Friday, May 12, 2023.
Martyr commander Iyad al-Abd Al-Hassani was born in Gaza City’s Beach (Al-Shateh) refugee camp in 1971. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Relation.
In 1988, he joined the ranks of the Islamic Jihad movement and got involved in the group’s several boards. Al-Hasani, known with his nom du guerre “Abou Anas”, had been for years wanted and was repeatedly arrested by the occupation forces and the Palestinian Authority (PA) security services.
As for military achievements, the martyr was one of the first to join the Islamic Jihad’s former military body (Muslim Mujahideen Forces “Kasam”).
Between 1992 and 1996, he was involved in dozens of shootings and armed battles with the Israeli enemy.
In addition, the eminent commander was well-known for his role in the self-sacrifice martyrdom operation “Beit Lid” in 1995. One year later, in 1996, he was one of the commanders who masterminded Operation Dizengoff.
In the early 2000s, “Abu Anas” assisted in establishing the Al-Quds Brigades. He also planned and executed various military operations in collaboration with other resistance forces.
Martyr Al-Hasani addressing resistance fighters (screen shot of a video released by Al-Quds Brigades).
Above all, martyr Al-Hasani had formed the Military Judiciary Unit and was a member of the Gaza Strip’s Military Council.
As a result of the indelible mark Al-Hasani caused to the Israeli entity, he was designated as one of the most wanted for more than 25 years.
Perhaps the most prominent position held by Al-Hasani was the Central Operations Command in Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Al-Quds Brigades.
He was said to be the commander in charge of coordination with Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas resistance movement.
The outstanding senior commander was subjected to several assassination attempts, the last of which was on Friday (May 13), when he was martyred in a cowardly Israeli assassination amid the ongoing battle, Revenge of the Free. His companion Mujahid Mohammed Abdel Aal was martyred along him in the Israeli strike which targeted Al-Nasr neighborhood.
His nephew, martyr commander Ramah Fayez Al-Hasani (nom du guerre: Karrar Palestine), was slain in a cowardly Zionist assassination while driving his private car west of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Above all, martyr Al-Hasani had formed the Military Judiciary Unit and was a member of the Gaza Strip’s Military Council.
As a result of the indelible mark Al-Hasani caused to the Israeli entity, he was designated as one of the most wanted for more than 25 years.
Perhaps the most prominent position held by Al-Hasani was the Central Operations Command in Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Al-Quds Brigades.
He was said to be the commander in charge of coordination with Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas resistance movement.
The outstanding senior commander was subjected to several assassination attempts, the last of which was on Friday (May 13), when he was martyred in a cowardly Israeli assassination amid the ongoing battle, Revenge of the Free. His companion Mujahid Mohammed Abdel Aal was martyred along him in the Israeli strike which targeted Al-Nasr neighborhood.
His nephew, martyr commander Ramah Fayez Al-Hasani (nom du guerre: Karrar Palestine), was slain in a cowardly Zionist assassination while driving his private car west of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Keys and rings worn by the martyr “Abu Anas”. One of the rings was a gift from Hezbollah S.G. Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.
Source:Al-Quds Brigades’ Military Media (translated and edited by Areej Fatima Al-Husseini)
A new era in the history of the Zionist entity has started. Thursday, May 11, 2023 will be ever remembered sorrowfully by the Israelis because it refers to the date which records the first death in Tel Aviv caused by a missile fire.
A building in the Rehovot settlement in southern Tel Aviv was directly hit, which left one death and 13 injuries and caused a massive destruction.
The Israeli occupation army announced that more than 800 missiles have been fired from Gaza since the beginning of the operation termed by the Palestinian Resistance as the “Revenge of the Free”.
Zionist media outlet indicated that 15 buildings have so far been directly hit by the Palestinian rockets, indicating that the number of injuries among the Zionist settlers has neared 30.
It is worth noting that the military censorship in the Zionist media has prevented the media outlets from circulating the footage of the destruction caused by the Palestinian missile fire at Tel Aviv, Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and other cities and settlements. In this regard, three buildings in Sderot were directly hit by the Palestinian missiles.
Missiles over Sderot
The Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a security consultations session after ordering the settlers to listen to the instructions of the “home front” commander who predicted battle would take several days.
Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu
Meanwhile, the Zionist media continued circulating news about an imminent ceasefire, claiming that Egyptian intelligence minister will meet the Islamic Jihad Chief Zioad Nakhala in Beirut.
The Israeli media also alleged that the United States has started an endeavor to reach a ceasefire after getting fed up with the escalation.
Palestinian Resistance: Assassination Policy Will Fail
The Joint Operations Chamber of the Palestinian Resistance Factions as well as the spokesman of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Abu Hamza issued a statement which confirms the assassination policy will fail and acts of resistance will continue confronting the Zionist aggression on Gaza.
The military media department of Al-Quds Brigades also circulated a new video that displays its readiness to fire more missiles at the Zionist settlements, ending the video with the Quranic expression “army to be drowned” in Arabic and Hebrew.
An Israeli drone attack on two apartments in Khan Younis had killed the Islamic Jihad Commander Ali Hzsan Ghali who was the top rocket commander. In an official statement, the Al-Quds Brigades expressed their profound grief over the loss of martyr leader Ali Hassan Ghali, widely known as Abu Muhammad. Martyr Ghali, a prominent member of the military council and the esteemed chief of the rocketry unit, tragically fell victim to a deceitful Zionist assassination in Khan Yunis, located in southern Gaza. The statement also acknowledged the presence of other devout martyrs who were martyred alongside him.
Ali Hasan Ghali, Islamic Jihad rocket commander who was assassinated by Israeli occupation (Thursday, May 11, 2023)
Zionist Enemy Kills More Civilians in Gaza
The Zionist warplanes continued raiding the various sites and positions in Gaza, targeting Shujaia, Deir Al-Balah, Bet Lahia and other areas in the blockaded Strip.
Among the targets was the Al-Agha family’s residence in the Al-Qarara region, which was completely demolished by the airstrikes. Another house, owned by the Al-Masry family, suffered a similar fate in the northern Gaza Strip.
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The three PIJ and Al-Quds Brigades leader who were martyred in the Israeli occupation aggression on the Gaza Strip
At dawn Tuesday, the Israeli occupation carried out a brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip, during which it used 40 planes, helicopters, and drones to target several areas in the Strip, including the homes of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ) leaders, which resulted in the death of 13 Palestinians, including the three leaders.
According to the PIJ’s obituary statement, martyr Jihad Ghannam, 62, born in Rafah, is considered one of the most prominent leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades.
Ghannam, a member of the movement’s political bureau, is the secretary of the military council in the Gaza Strip and is also considered one of the resistance leaders most wanted by the occupation since the Al-Aqsa Intifada, which broke out at the end of 2000.
The martyr held many PIJ positions, including the command of the southern region in the Gaza Strip. During the past years, he survived several assassination attempts and sustained several injuries as a result. His feet and parts of his hands were amputated.
During the Intifada, Ghannam supervised numerous decisive military operations that led to the killing of many Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers back when “Israel” established settlements in the Gaza Strip.
He joined the PIJ in the late 1980s and took part in the founding of the Al-Quds Brigades and led them for a long time, and was responsible for many military, administrative, and logistic files, among others.
According to the occupation’s allegations, Ghannam recently worked on coordinating and transferring funds and weapons between the PIJ and Hamas.
The martyr participated in training Resistance fighters inside the Gaza Strip, firing mortar shells, repelling incursions, and targeting Israeli occupation vehicles. He also participated in the training of PIJ Resistance fighters in Sudan.
Ghannam supervised the supply of qualitative weapons to the resistance in Gaza, as well as the recruitment of military cells in the occupied West Bank, which recently launched several operations against the occupation.
He oversaw the development of missile manufacturing in the Al-Quds Brigades, accompanied by leader Khaled Mansour who was martyred in another Israeli aggression in August 2022.
The Israeli occupation attempted to assassinate Ghannam several times, most recently in Operation Seif Al-Quds in May 2021.
He survived more than five assassination attempts, the most serious of which was in 2014 when his mother, siblings, and cousins were martyred in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his house.
The martyr’s family sacrificed many of its members, most notably Ghannam’s brother, Ziad, and two of his nephews.
Ghannam is considered the most prominent figure in the Al-Quds Brigades and was in direct contact with PIJ Secretary-General Ziad Al-Nakhalah, and had a distinguished and direct relationship with Akram Al-Ajouri, the commander-in-chief of the Al-Quds Brigades.
Tarek Ezzedine
The second martyr that the PIJ mourned was Tarek Ezzedine, 48, from the town of Arraba, southwest of Jenin.
The Al-Quds Brigades’ statement described Ezzedine as one of the leaders of its military action in the occupied West Bank.
Ezzedine was arrested several times and was held in Israeli occupation prisons. He was subjected to torture and interrogations, the last of which was in 2002, when he was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 25 years, on charges of taking part in Resistance operations against the Israeli occupation in the occupied West Bank.
In 2011, he was liberated from Israeli occupation prisons as part of the Loyalty of the Free deal, in which 1,027 prisoners were released in exchange for Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit.
He was elected to the PIJ’s first political bureau in 2018 and was reelected a few months ago.
According to Israeli claims, Ezzedine is considered responsible for coordinating relations between the PIJ in Gaza and Resistance forces in the occupied West Bank and supervising attacks from there, in addition to transferring money and special weapons to the Jenin Brigade.
After his liberation, Ezzedine was deported to the Gaza Strip, and he settled in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, until his martyrdom.
Khalil Al-Bahtini
According to the Al-Quds Brigades’ statement, the third military commander who was martyred in the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza was Khalil Salah Al-Bahtini.
Al-Bahtini, 44, was a member of the Brigades’ military council and commander of its northern region and started his activity in the PIJ in the 1990s.
Al-Bahtini is considered one of the most prominent leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades. He was in direct contact with many of the Brigades’ leaders during the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, and his military activity became more prominent after the occupation’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
He formed several active groups within the Al-Quds Brigades, especially those that oversee missile development.
The martyr was in direct relationship with leader Bahaa Abu Al-Atta, who was assassinated in 2019, and with leaders Tayseer Al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour, who were assassinated by the Israeli occupation in August 2022.
The Israeli occupation claims that the martyr took over the leadership of the northern Gaza Strip in the Al-Quds Brigades after the martyrdom of Tayseer Al-Jabari.
Response to heinous Israeli massacre will not be delayed: PIJ
Earlier, the PIJ held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the “treacherous and heinous terrorist massacre that exceeded all red lines and constituted a serious violation of the ceasefire.”
In a statement, the PIJ stressed that the Palestinian response to this heinous aggression and massacre will not be late, vowing that the Al-Quds Brigades and the Resistance will never relent in retaliating for the crimes committed against the martyrs’ pure blood.
The movement underlined that the enemy will not achieve its goals and objectives from this heinous crime, as the Resistance is united and its positions are firm.
The PIJ affirmed that it will be more determined to continue its path and perform its holy duties in resisting the enemy, adding that behind the leaders of Al-Quds Brigades are strong leaders and soldiers who preserve the covenant and the legacy, and carry the responsibility and determination to fight and drain the enemy and confront it in all arenas.
Image prepared by Al-Manar Website showing Al-Quds Brigades fighters and martyr Sheikh Khader Adnan.
As soon as the occupation authorities announced at dawn on Tuesday martyrdom of Sheikh Khader Adnan, events across Palestine and the Zionist entity escalated, risking a new confrontation between the resistance and the Israeli enemy.
Dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza on settlements bordering the coastal enclave, as shootings occurred in the occupied West Bank in a clear retaliation of the cold-blooded assassination of the senior Islamic Jihad official who was on his 87th day of hunger strike in protest against Israeli arbitrary detention.
Meanwhile, Palestinian prisoners were mulling to go on mass hunger strike in rejection of the Israeli policy of administrative detention.
More than 100 rockets were fired from Gaza into the occupied territories between Tuesday and Wednesday, with Israeli media reporting some failure in the Iron Dome Israeli defense system in attempts to down the Palestinian rockets.
The Islamic Jihad resistance group’s military wing Al-Quds Brigades published a video entitled “We Haven’t Started Yet,” in a clear message to the Israeli enemy that the retaliation to the assassination crime of Sheikh Adnan will be wide-scale.
The video below, translated and subtitled by Al-Manar’s Areej Fatima Al-Husseini shows Al-Quds Brigades fighters preparing rockets to be fired at occupied territories.
Intensive Calls to Avoid Confrontation
In parallel, the Islamic Jihad and Hamas movements received intensive calls from mediators, during which they demanded these two movements not to respond to the assassination crime from the Gaza Strip, and to avoid a new military confrontation with the occupation during the current period, Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported, citing well-informed sources.
However, the resistance responded that “the crime of assassinating Adnan won’t go unanswered, with the aim of deterring the enemy and preventing it from repeating such crimes against the prisoners,” according to the paper.
Indeed, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad held consultations about the nature of this response, which included parties in the axis of resistance, while “Al-Akhbar” learned that it was decided, as a result of the consultations, that the initial response would be from the West Bank, which witnessed, since yesterday morning, two operations that resulted in the injury of three soldiers from the occupation army, to be followed by responses from various arenas, including Gaza.
Resistance Pounds Occupied Territories
Shortly after, the Gaza Strip witnessed a series of tensions, which began with the firing of three missiles from the Strip towards the settlements of Gaza envelope, in parallel with the occupation army intensifying its flight over Gaza, and strengthening its preparations for the possibility of launching more missiles, by deploying the “Iron Dome” in the so-called “Gaza envelope” area and in around Tel Aviv.
In the afternoon on Tuesday, the occupation artillery targeted a resistance observation point east of the Gaza City, in response to the rocket fire, as stated by the enemy army spokesman, who also instructed the residents of the areas bordering the coastal strip to stay in places close to shelters.
As a result of this development, warning sirens sounded, more than once, in the settlements bordering Gaza, before the outcome of yesterday’s rockets, until the end of the dawn on Wednesday, reached more than 100 rockets and missiles, launched from Gaza, injuring more than 10 settlers, some of them seriously, as one of the rockets fell in Sderot settlement.
Subsequently, the Joint Room of Palestinian Resistance Factions claimed responsibility for shelling of the settlements bordering Gaza, describing it as “a preliminary response to this heinous crime that will trigger responses from our people in all arenas and places of engagement.”
The resistance’s joint room also confirmed that the issue of prisoners “will remain at the top of the priorities of the resistance’s leadership in all circumstances,” warning the enemy against escalating its aggression.
“Any crime or foolishness won’t remain unanswered, and the resistance is fully prepared to defend its people everywhere,” the Palestinian sources said as reported by Al-Akhbar.
Israeli Assessment, Reported ‘Ceasefire’
On the other hand, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducted a security assessment that lasted for hours, in which security officials, the army chief of staff, and the defense minister participated. After the meeting, Israeli media circulated leaks that the occupation army has recommended to launch a so-called “expanded response campaign” to Gaza rockets in Gaza.
The Hebrew media quoted several security and political sources confirming that the situation is about to “a round of exchanges of fire, which may last for a day or two.”
According to Kan, the Israeli security system prepared itself for various scenarios, including “launching rockets from southern Lebanon, and shooting and running over operations in the West Bank and the interior.”
And on the mediation level, Egypt entered, as usual, in an attempt to stop the rocket fire, in exchange for the release of the martyr Khader Adnan’s body. However, according to Israeli media reports, Tel Aviv “strongly refused to release the body.”
However, Reuters news agency reported that the Zionist regime and the Palestinian resistance groups have reached a ceasefire early Wednesday morning, noting that the deal was mediated by officials from Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
Violent confrontations erupted between Palestinian youths and the Israeli occupation forces in several cities across the occupied West Bank, including Jenin, Beit Lahm, and Nablus. In response to the unrest, the IOF fired stun grenades at citizens near the al-Hamra checkpoint in the Jordan Valley and detained Palestinian civilians.
According to Palestinian media, the resistance fighters targeted the occupation forces in the town of Burqin, resulting in one civilian sustaining a gunshot wound. The Jenin Battalion of the Al-Quds Brigades confirmed their involvement in the armed clashes, declaring their fight against the Israeli occupation forces.
In another incident, clashes erupted on Friday evening in the town of Taqu’a, southeast of Beit Lahm, prompting the IOF to respond with force. The al-Hamra checkpoint witnessed a tense situation, with the deployment of occupation forces and the closure of the barrier, causing significant disruption for civilians on both sides.
The Israeli occupation forces say two rockets were fired from Syria towards the Golan heights and “fell in open areas”
Israeli soldiers enter a military vehicle at a position along the concrete border fence with southern Lebanon, on April 6, 2023 (AFP)
The Israeli occupation forces say two rockets were fired from Syria towards the Golan heights and “fell in open areas”. However, Israeli media then followed up by announcing that three rockets were fired from Syria toward the Golan area.
The Israeli occupation forces activated alarm sirens in the south of the Golan Heights following an explosion that was heard in the vicinity.
In turn, the military correspondent of Channel 12 speculated that “We will witness, in the coming hours, an Israeli response to the rocket launches from Syria.”
Likewise, some occupation media experts expressed their dissatisfaction with the development of events in more than one area in and around Palestine and Syria.
Moreover, Israeli media reported that the occupation forces began sending reinforcements to northern Palestine, following the ongoing developments in the region.
The military spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Hamza, affirmed at Friday dawn that “the Resistance today translates its pledge to occupied Al-Quds and its people and continues its blessed response to the aggression.”
Abu Hamza added that the resistance confirms that “the sword of Al-Quds will remain wielded in all arenas,” stressing that “Jihad continues without retreat.”
Al-Quds Brigades’ military media published a video titled “Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line.”
The Palestinian Resistance had fired several missiles at the Israeli occupation settlements in the envelope of Gaza in response to the Israeli aggression against the Strip.
Earlier, the Joint Room of the Palestinian Resistance factions confirmed its readiness to respond to any aggression that the Israeli occupation would carry out against Gaza.
“We affirm the readiness of the resistance to confront and respond with all force to any aggression, and to defend our people in all their places of existence,” the Joint Room underlined in a statement, in light of the Israeli occupation’s threats against the resistance and the people in the Gaza Strip.
The Resistance factions warned the Israeli occupation against attacking the Palestinian people, calling on “the criminal enemy to stop its savage aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque” and the worshipers stationed inside it, and to “stop the farce of exporting its internal crises towards our people and our sanctities.”
عند الثامنة وقليل من صباح أمس، غادر المقاوم علي رمزي الأسود (31 سنة) منزله في ضاحية قدسيا قرب دمشق. وبينما كان يستعدّ لركوب سيارته، انهمر رصاص كثيف باتّجاهه، حيث أفرغ مجهولان أكثر من ثلاثين طلقة من رشاشات خفيفة، أصابت أكثر من عشر منها الأسود بإصابات قاتلة. وعند قدوم سيّارات الإسعاف والأجهزة الأمنية، كان المقاوم قد فارق الحياة. وبعد نقله إلى أحد مستشفيات العاصمة السورية لتشريح الجثة، تمّ إخراج عدد غير قليل من الرصاصات من جسده، ليتبيّن أنها من أسلحة متوسّطة، يبدو أنها غربية مخصّصة للاغتيالات. وأظهر تقرير الطبّ الشرعي أن كمّية كبيرة من الرصاصات أصابت جسده، لكن اللافت أنه تعرّض للطعن بسكين حادّ بعد وقوعه أرضاً.
وبحسب بيان الطبيب الشرعي، فإن عمليات الطعن حصلت بعدما فارق الأسود الحياة، في ما ينمّ عن رغبة العدو في إضفاء طابع متوحّش على العملية. كذلك، أظهرت التحقيقات أن الرصاصات كانت من حجم كبير، ومعدّة أصلاً لضرب أهداف مدرّعة، ما يعني أن القوة المهاجمة أخذت في الاعتبار أن يكون المقاوم الأسود مرتدياً واقياً للرصاص، أو أن العملية كانت لتقع ربّما عند ركوبه سيارته، ما يعني احتمال أن تكون سيارته مصفّحة.
وكان الأسود يعيش في مخيم اليرموك، لكنه نزح عنه بعد اندلاع الحرب في سوريا، وانتقل للإقامة في منطقة أخرى، ثمّ تزوّج وأنجب ابنتين وولداً، وهو كان يقظاً ويتّخذ إجراءات أمنية دقيقة في ضوء ارتفاع وتيرة العمل الصهيوني في سوريا. وقبل فترة، انتقل للسكن في ضاحية قدسيا حيث جرت عملية الاغتيال، والتي دلّت على أن العدو كان يعرف به، وأن خلاياه الأمنية عملت على مراقبته من خلال تعقّب تقني وبشري أيضاً، وهي حضّرت ودرست مسرح الجريمة جيداً، حتى تمكّنت من تنفيذها وسحْب المنفذين إلى خارج موقعها. وأشارت إفادات لشهود عيان إلى أن سيارة «فان» شوهدت تغادر المنطقة سريعاً بعد دقائق من حصول العملية، ويَجري البحث عنها. كما ظهرت بعض المؤشّرات إلى أن عملية المراقبة المباشرة قد أخذت وقتاً غير قصير، فيما يتمّ التكتّم على تفاصيل كثيرة حول التحقيقات الجارية في سوريا.
رصاصة سحبت من جثة الشهيد الأسود في أحد مستشفيات العاصمة السورية (خاص الأخبار)
الشهيد الأسود، هو ابن عائلة فلسطينية هاجرت إثر نكبة العام 1948 من قضاء حيفا، وسكنت في مخيم اليرموك للاجئين الفلسطينيين في العاصمة السورية دمشق. وهو ولد في العام 1991، وتابع تحصيله العلمي في سوريا، وتخصّص في الكيمياء. وطوّر قدراته العلمية بجهد شخصي بعد انخراطه في «سرايا القدس»، الجناح العسكري لحركة «الجهاد الإسلامي» التي التحق بها في العام 2005 عن عمر 14 عاماً، وترقّى في المسؤوليات بعد خضوعه لدورات متخصّصة كثيرة، من بينها دورة قيادة وأركان، وكانت له إسهاماته في تطوير القدرات التقنية لـ«السرايا». والأسود، الذي حمّلت «الجهاد» في بيان نعيه الاحتلال الإسرائيلي المسؤولية عن «الجريمة الغادرة» التي طاولته، مضيفةً أنه «اغتيل على يد عملاء العدو الصهيوني»، معروفٌ في أوساط الحركة بأنه «قيادي عسكري مهمّ في الساحة السورية»، وهو الشهيد السادس لـ«السرايا» في تلك الساحة منذ العام 2019.
الإقرار الإسرائيلي
وبينما سارعت وسائل إعلام العدو إلى نشر الخبر نقلاً عن مصادر خارج الكيان، قال رئيس حكومة العدو، بنيامين نتنياهو، في افتتاح جلسة الحكومة: «تعمل قواتنا على مدار الساعة لإحباط البنى التحتية للإرهاب، قتلنا عشرات المسلّحين الشهر الماضي، واعتقلنا عدداً آخر. أكرّر: كلّ الذين يحاولون إيذاء الإسرائيليين دمهم مهدور، سنصل إلى المطلوبين في كلّ مكان». وأضاف: «نحن نصل إلى الإرهابيين والمهندسين في كلّ مكان وأينما كانوا».
نتنياهو يتبنى الجريمة: دمهم مهدور وسنصل إليهم أينما كانوا
وبدا موقف نتنياهو هذا، بمثابة إشارة انطلاق للخبراء والإعلاميين للربط بين عملية الاغتيال وبين عملية مجدو، إذ وافق رئيس «شعبة العمليات السابق»، اللواء يسرائيل زيف، على الربط بينهما، مبرّراً ذلك في مقابلة مع «إذاعة الجيش»، بأن «حركة الجهاد لا تلتزم بقواعد اللعبة القائمة مع إسرائيل»، في إشارة إلى كون عملية مجدو بدت خارج القواعد المألوفة، وبما يستبطن إقراراً بعنصر المفاجأة التكتيكية وبأبعادها الاستراتيجية. أيضاً، تبنّى العديد من الإعلاميين والمعلّقين العسكريين، بصياغات مختلفة، «نظرية» وجود صلة بين «مجدو» و«قدسيا» التي برز إجماع على كونها نُفّذت من قِبل «الموساد». لكن بعض المعلّقين رأوا أن الاغتيال هو جزء من التعامل مع القوى الموجودة خارج الكيان، وأن لا علاقة له بحادثة مجدو، على رغم أن هؤلاء تحدّثوا عن أن الشهيد كان يعمل على إعداد مجموعة من العمليات العسكرية داخل فلسطين المحتلّة.
في المقابل، قرأت مصادر في فصائل المقاومة في فلسطين في الاغتيال إعلاناً إسرائيلياً عن الاستعداد للدخول في حرب متعدّدة الجبهات، فضلاً عن أنه يفتح الباب من جديد أمام سيناريو تصفية قيادات المقاومة في الخارج.
On the morning of 19 March, Ali Ramzi al-Aswad, a senior leader and engineer in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement’s military wing, the Quds Brigade, was assassinated by Israel near the Syrian capital Damascus.
“The Al-Quds Brigade mourns the martyr commander and engineer Ali Al-Aswad, who was assassinated by agents of the Zionist enemy in the countryside of Damascus,” the PIJ said in a statement.
Initially, unofficial Syrian sources had reported that Aswad, 31-years-old, also known as Abu Abdel Rahman, was killed early on Sunday morning in the Dahiat Qudsaya region west of Damascus.
According to the PIJ statement, Aswad was a Palestinian refugee whose family was displaced from the city of Haifa after the 1948 Nakba. He grew up in the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria before joining the ranks of the PIJ movement in Syria.
“An Israeli Mossad squad consisting of four members shot and killed the engineer commander, Ali Ramzi al-Aswad,” Israeli journalist Yoni Ben Menachem was quoted to have told Hebrew media.
“The security establishment has begun to work,” Menachem added.
Israel’s Channel 12 media network claimed in a report that Aswad “had a hand in” in the Megiddo bomb attack in the northern occupied territories last week, casting further doubt on the Israeli narrative regarding the incident. Israel had initially claimed that Lebanon’s Hezbollah was suspected for carrying out the attack.
“Investigations into the assassination of Commander Ali Al-Aswad in the Damascus countryside are still ongoing and more than one party is participating in it … The decision to respond will be taken based on the results of the investigations,” Palestinian sources told Al-Mayadeen.
This was the first known Israeli operation to be carried out against the PIJ’s Syria branch since 2019, when a leader in the group, Akram al-Ajouri, was unsuccessfully targeted in an airstrike.
The killing comes after a string of Israeli assassinations in the occupied West Bank. Over the past ten days, Israeli military and special forces units have carried out targeted killings of several leaders and members of a number of resistance factions, including Hamas, the PIJ, and other West Bank-based factions affiliated with the PIJ.
It also comes one day after a meeting was held between the Secretary-General of the PIJ, Ziad al-Nakhala and Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
During the meeting, Nasrallah praised the ongoing and ever-expanding resistance activity across the occupied West Bank and in the holy city of Jerusalem.
The two resistance leaders vowed to “continue dialogue and cooperation” between the Lebanese resistance and the PIJ.
Hezbollah has long been known to cooperate with Palestinian resistance factions, and has provided them with significant amounts of technical expertise.
During the 2021 Sayf al-Quds battle, there was “high-level coordination” between Hezbollah and the Gaza-based factions.
Funeral of 4 Palestinian martyrs in Jenin (March 16, 2023).
Palestinians bid farewell to four martyrs who fell after Israeli occupation forces raided Jenin on Thursday.
Mass funeral were held in Jenin, hours after the attack that claimed the life of four Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy.
Among the martyrs were Nidal Hazem, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement’s Al-Quds Brigades and and Youssef Shreim, a member of Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades.
Another 20 Palestinians were wounded by gunfire, four of them seriously.
Thursday’s raid saw special forces from the Israeli occupation military along with the Shin Bet security service and Border Police enter the city center in the middle of the day.
A witness said the attack started after occupation forces arrived in two cars and stopped in the middle of a street.
Media coverage: "The moment when the Israeli special force fled Jenin after carrying out today's assassination attack that claimed the life of four Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy." pic.twitter.com/57k9UacVHm
Following the raid, Palestinian resistance movements warned the Israeli enemy that the blood of the martyrs won’t go in vain, vowing that the Palestinian people will go ahead with all forms of resistance against the occupation.
Israeli raids in the West Bank have become increasingly deadly since the start of the year, with occupation forces brutally attacking the Palestinian cities and towns, causing high number of casualties.
The number of Palestinians martyred since the start of 2023 has surpassed 80, Palestinian media reported.
In the interview, Abu Hamza also touched on the general Palestinian situation and the increasing acts of resistance in the West Bank recently.
Abu Hamza said Al-Quds Brigades members will never forget the scene of then-Israeli Chief of Staff, Amnon Shahak, walking among the dead Israeli occupation soldiers at the Beit Lid junction crying
In an exclusive interview for Al Mayadeen Online, the military spokesperson for Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ), Abu Hamza, revealed the details of the Beit Lid operation in the occupied West Bank.
The Beit Lid operation was carried out on January 22, 1995, and led to the killing of approximately 24 Israeli occupation soldiers, in addition to dozens of injuries.
In the interview, Abu Hamza also touched on the general Palestinian situation and the increasing acts of resistance in the West Bank recently.
He also conveyed strong-worded messages to the Israeli occupation, through Al Mayadeen Online, on the 28th anniversary of the qualitative operation.
Beit Lid… a blow to the core of the “settlement” project
The military spokesperson for Al-Quds Brigades highlighted the political circumstances that preceded the operation, making the need for implementing a large and effective resistance act a dire necessity. The reason is that the Israeli occupation and its allies were making every effort to create and impose a new political reality on occupied Palestine, under the pretexts of making peace and reaching settlements, by trying to turn the ill-fated “Oslo Accords” a fait accompli that the Palestinian people have no other choice but to accept.
The Beit Lid operation came to foil this agreement, and through it, the Islamic Jihad Movement consolidated its adherence to resistance as the only option for the liberation of Palestine. The image was clear: Standing up against the scheme of the so-called “peace” even if it meant that the blood of freedom fighters will be spilled.
On the factors that led the movement to choose the Beit Lid junction in specific to carry out the double operation, Abu Hamza explained that it is an area where a large number of Israeli soldiers usually gather; the same soldiers who terrorize the Palestinian people, and considering that Al-Quds Brigades is committed to a doctrine that demands confronting whoever inflicts terror and evildoings upon the defenseless, proud, and steadfast people, the operation was inevitable.
Abu Hamza continued to say that the Beit Lid operation came out as an achievement at the security level as well, and not just military-wise, as it necessitated bypassing all [Israeli] fortifications, surveillance systems, barriers, and checkpoints, leading to the killing of approximately 24 soldiers and the wounding of dozens.
The military spokesperson recalled that the operation forced the criminal Israeli Prime Minister at the time, Yitzhak Rabin, to address the media and say that the members of the Islamic Jihad in Palestine want to kill Israeli soldiers, “so how do you want me to punish them; do I punish them with death? They’re not afraid of it.”
Abu Hamza also said Al-Quds Brigades members will never forget the scene of then-Israeli Chief of Staff, Amnon Shahak, walking among the dead Israeli occupation soldiers at the Beit Lid junction crying.
Palestinian resistance mindset… Creativity in infiltration
When asked about the personality of the leader who supervised the operation and how the two resistance members, Anwar Sukkar and Salah Shakir, were prepared for the operation, as well as getting them to the place where they were supposed to carry out the operation, Abu Hamza said, “We recall here the great leader Mahmoud Al-Khawaja, may Allah shower him with mercy,” who was the leader of ‘Qasam’ – PIJ military wing designation at the time – who supervised the operation himself, all the way from choosing the location until the execution of the operation.
The PIJ military spokesperson also recalled the engineer of the explosive devices, commander Mahmoud Al-Zatma, who oversaw the preparation and processing of the explosive packages carried by the martyrs, as well as martyred leaders Ammar Al-Araj and Ayman Al-Razaina.
Abu Hamza shed light on the role and credit of prisoner Abdul Halim Al-Balbeisi who brought the freedom fighters charged with carrying out the operation to the closest point to the Beit Lid junction.
He stressed that the Islamic Jihad Movement and its military wing dealt a mighty security blow to the occupation, manifested by the two resistance members succeeding in leaving the Gaza Strip, crossing the deployed military checkpoints, inspection and surveillance systems, and cameras, reaching the Beit Lid junction, and sacrificing themselves successively, in an act of unrivaled valor.
Today’s armed confrontations; an extension of yesterday’s modus operandi
Regarding Al-Quds Brigades’ view of the recent growing armed confrontations with the occupation in the West Bank, Abu Hamza explained that this revolutionary approach in the West Bank today is but an extension of these heroic operations and the battles that the Palestinian Resistance and Al-Quds Brigades fought in Jenin during the so-called Israeli “Operation Defensive Shield.”
Abu Hamza, through Al Mayadeen, affirmed that the Islamic Jihad Movement has not and will never abandon resistance, neither in the West Bank nor in the Gaza Strip.
Addressing the shameful paths of normalization pursued by some Arab regimes, and answering a question about whether it is possible for the PIJ to overlook such events, the military spokesperson drew his answer from the memory of the Beit Led operation, saying, “The Islamic Jihad Movement and Al-Quds Brigades thwarted all normalization attempts through our blessed operations and battles of Unity of the Battlefields, Seif Al-Quds, and Firm Structure (Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous), just as we previously foiled all attempts to obliterate the right of the Palestinian people through the course of making ‘settlements’.”
On Beit Lid anniversary… Palestine stands strong, free, and eternal homeland to Palestinians
The interviewer indicated that the Beit Lid operation left an everlasting impact to forever be remembered by the Israeli security establishment, revealing that the Israeli occupation built a monument for its soldiers killed at the site of the operation.
On this point, Abu Hamza said the PIJ codenamed the operation the “Double Missile”, considering that the first attack targeting Israeli soldiers was carried out by Anwar Sukkar at the intersection, followed by a second attack carried out by Salah Shakir after Israeli soldiers gathered at the first explosion site.
“Palestine belongs to the Palestinians, and it is a Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic land. We, in Al-Quds Brigades, can never settle for any Zionist presence on this blessed land, PIJ military spokesperson said, addressing the Israeli enemy.
Abu Hamza stressed that Al-Quds Brigades will work to mobilize all potentials and capabilities at the security, military, political, and public levels and direct them toward the course of liberating this Palestinian land.
Palestine: How did you prove the integration of the fronts?
Palestinian detainee Nasser Abu Hamid was martyred on Tuesday due to lung cancer. The tumor’s symptoms started to appear in August 2021. Yet the Zionist enemy authorities delayed the medical tests Nasser required as part of the medical negligence policy pursued by the Zionist prisons’ administration.
These factors led to the deterioration of the detainee’s medical condition, especially after he was transferred to the Ramle Prison clinic that lacks the minimum healthcare equipment. Ironically, it is one of the clinics specialized in the treatment of detainees who suffer from critical and serious diseases.
The head of the Gaza Unit in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade “Abu al-Majd” affirmed in an interview with “Al-Ahed News” that “The stance on the martyrdom of detainee leader Nasser Abu Hamid is the same towards all detainees; however, what specializes martyr Abu Hamid is that he was a prominent leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in the West Bank.”
“The enemy, by withholding Abu Hamid’s body, seeks to start a confrontation with the resistance factions. However, we are aware of its plans, and we’ll retaliate for this assassination starting from the West Bank and reaching Gaza, in coordination between the Palestinian resistance factions that as part of the Joint Operations Chamber,” he added.
“Abu al-Majd” further stressed that “the enemy will pay dearly had it initiated any aggression or military folly.” The scale of response to the enemy’s activities towards the Palestinian people isn’t controlled by geography or boundaries. It will rather cover all the Palestinian territories, he underlined.
Meanwhile, the head of the Detainees Movement Mounir Mansour told Al-Ahed News that “The martyrdom of Abu Hamid ignited massive protests along the occupied Palestinian lands. And in particular, after the ‘Israeli’ occupation authorities declared their refusal to hand over the martyr’s body to his family.”
“These protests have put the occupation entity on alert amid concerns about what things would reach in the next few hours. The martyrdom of the detainee Abu Hamid put all Palestinians on the verge of a volcano that is about to erupt at any moment, especially after the escalation of confrontations with the enemy in different Palestinian regions,” Mansour added.
By the same token, Mansour noted that protests and confrontations aren’t organized by any side. They evolved from the vigor of our people and their refusal to the suppressive “Israeli” measures in prisons, pledging that the Detainees Movement will continue to fight for the rights of prisoners and detainees.
In the same context, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club Qaddoura Fares, in comments to our website, considered that “the martyrdom of detainee Abu Hamid is a war crime against all Palestinians and a live example on the practices of the enemy’s apparatuses and authorities from the top of the pyramid till its base.”
He further emphasized that “the cause of Palestinian detainees is not confined to any rights organization or faction. It’s the cause of all people of Palestine who must assemble their efforts to face the Zionist enemy in all fields to achieve freedom and protect their dignity and sanctities.”
Qaddoura concluded his statement by praising protests and confrontations taking place between Palestinians and the enemy’s army to condemn Nasser Abu Hamid’s assassination. Likewise, he didn’t forget to call to continue these steps that drain the abilities of the occupation and put us on the track toward the complete liberation.
It’s noteworthy that martyr detainee Nasser Abu Hamid was detained on 4/12/2002, life sentenced 7 times, and for 50 years. This detention wasn’t his first, as his prison journey had started in 1987, and he spent about 33 years behind ‘Israeli’ bars until his martyrdom on 20/12/2022.
Additionally, Abu Hamid is a brother of a martyr and four other detainees in the ‘Israeli’ occupation prisons who are all sentenced to life. They spent long years in prisons. Besides, the ‘Israeli’ occupation had destroyed the family’s house as part of its collective punishment policy.
The heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel mourn martyrs Naim Al-Zubaidi and Mohammad Al-Saadi who were killed by IOF forces in a raid on Jenin.
Heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel
The heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel mourned a leader of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Naim Al-Zubaidi, who was martyred two weeks ago by the occupation forces’ bullets in Jenin.
Conveyed by prisoner Mahmoud Al-Aridah, the letter read that Naim Al-Zubaidi arrived at martyr Nof Nufeiat’s section after being summoned by the Freedom Tunnel family in a hurry in mid-February 2021.
According to the letter, Al-Zubaidi answered the call and was heartened many times; once when he saw the Freedom Tunnel making its way towards Al-Qud, another when he learned that the Freedom Tunnel group unanimously chose the great leader Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, and a third time when he learned that his soldiers and the heroes of the Jenin camp, the great leader and fighter Mahmoud Shadim and the great fighter Qusai Merhi, are at the vanguard of those who create the nation and Palestine’s heroic epic in Bisan.
Al-Zubaidi did not hesitate to accept the mission and offered everything he had for the success of the freedom project, the letter read, adding that the martyr remained committed and kept the secret as a watchful eye that monitors the news and provides the heroes of the Freedom Tunnel with updates even before he became a leader in martyr Ahmad Yassin’s section and in command during emergencies in martyr Nidal Abu Shadouf’s section in Gilboa prison and after his transfer to Al-Naqab prison.
The heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel mourned martyr Naim Al-Zubaidi, 27, and his friend Mohammad Al-Saadi, 26, who were killed by Israeli occupation forces during a raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli occupation forces shoot dead a Palestinian youth in an execution-style murder and seriously wound another near the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
18-year-old Palestinian martyr Musab Mohammad Mahmoud Nafal
A Palestinian youth was martyred and another was critically injured, Saturday evening, after the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on them near the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the occupation forces “targeted two Palestinians with gunfire in an ambush near the village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah.”
On its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that “the Palestinian youth, Musab Mohammad Mahmoud Nafal, 18, succumbed to the wounds he sustained after being shot at near Sinjil.”
Dozens of Palestinians took part in the mourning procession of martyr Musab Nafal on his way from Ramallah Hospital to the Palestine Medical Complex in the city after he was pronounced dead. Slogans calling for pursuing resistance against the occupation and taking revenge for its crimes against the Palestinians echoed across the city.
Last Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of 4 Palestinians and the wounding of several others by none other than the Israeli occupation forces, in Jenin and its camp. Among the martyrs was a leader of Al-Quds Brigades in the West Bank and a leader of Jenin Brigade Farouk Jamil Salameh.
With sadness and tears, Palestinians bid final farewell to the Palestinian youth, Musab Nafal, 18, who was succumbed to injuries sustained by Israeli occupation live bullets near the town of Singel in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. pic.twitter.com/x4jPglCK6V
Dozens of Palestinians took part in the mourning procession of martyr Musab Nafal on his way from Ramallah Hospital to the Palestine Medical Complex in the city after he was pronounced dead. Slogans calling for pursuing resistance against the occupation and taking revenge for its crimes against the Palestinians echoed across the city.
Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen, seriously injure another in attack north of occupied West Bank city of Ramallah
Last Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of 4 Palestinians and the wounding of several others by none other than the Israeli occupation forces, in Jenin and its camp. Among the martyrs was a leader of Al-Quds Brigades in the West Bank and a leader of Jenin Brigade Farouk Jamil Salameh.
The Nablus Battalion of al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement, announced that its fighters carried out on Friday evening a shooting operation on the ‘Israeli’ occupation’s al-Murabba Checkpoint western Nablus, and left the spot unharmed.
Additionally, the Nablus Battalion of al-Quds Brigades targeted Shaked Settlement with heavy barrages of fire.
At the same time, confrontations broke out between Palestinian youths and the ‘Israeli’ occupation forces in Beit Dajan eastern Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Other confrontations with the occupation forces took place in Ayda Refugee Camp northern Bethlehem, and the al-Aroub Refugee Camp northern al-Khalil.
In parallel, the Zionist regime forces launched gas bombs towards houses and properties of the Palestinian people, and kidnapped a boy named Mohammad Yasser Darwish from the holy city of al-Quds.
The Israeli occupation forces storm the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, waging large-scale aggression against the Palestinian people.
Israeli occupation forces barge into occupied Al-Quds in November, 2021 (Anadolu Agency)
The Israeli occupation forces unexpectedly stormed on Tuesday the West Bank city of Nablus in occupied Palestine, waging a round of unprecedented aggression in recent years.
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the Israeli occupation forces killed three Palestinians and wounded 19 others, three of whom are in critical condition, with the occupation forces preventing ambulances and medical staff from reaching the scene.
Palestinian media outlets reported that the Palestinian security forces “discovered a special force of the Israeli occupation army while trying to storm the city, resulting in an armed confrontation.”
The Palestinian media stressed that residents and security forces were able to thwart the infiltration attempt of the Israeli special force into the old city of Nablus and wounded some of its members, which prompted the occupation army to launch a rapid and concentrated attack with heavy gunfire.
Amid the rampant criminality waged by the Israeli occupation, the people of Nablus took to the streets to offer support to the Palestinian security forces and freedom fighters as the IOF hysterically opened fire on civilians in the streets, Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent reported.
Our correspondent added that mass rallies were held in Ramallah and the Dheisheh camp, Beit Lahm, in support of the Resistance and freedom fighters, with Palestinians flocking to the area from various cities of the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli occupation’s Air Force reportedly conducted an airstrike that targeted a civilian vehicle in the occupied West Bank, as per Palestinian media outlets. The vehicle caught on fire, and Palestinians rushed to the scene in an attempt to save the passengers.
Israeli newspaper Walla! reported that the Israeli occupation’s aggression came as a “preemptive” operation against the Palestinian Resistance in the West Bank claiming that “Tel Aviv” learned that the Resistance was planning to conduct an operation against the occupation.
The violent storming resulted in confrontations between the occupation forces and the Palestinians who confronted the encroachment and aggression.
“The events in Nablus are systemic criminality and terrorism committed by the Zionist occupation’s forces,” Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Spokesperson Tariq Ezzeddine said.
“The brave freedom fighters of our people, the Al-Quds Brigades, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, Ezzeddine Al-Qassam Brigades, and the Lions’ Den will not allow the occupation to violate our cities,” Ezzeddine added.
The PIJ Spokesperson also called on the Palestinian people to take to the streets and confront the Israeli occupation “to prove that we are one people and one resistance.”
“We call on the honorable security forces to defend their people with all means available to them,” the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said.
On its part, the Palestinian Presidency stressed, “The aggression being waged against the city of Nablus is a war crime.”
According to the ministry, the first martyr is Mahmoud Al-Sous, 18, and the second martyr is Ahmad Mohammad Hussein Daraghmeh, 19, from Tubas.
Mahmoud Al-Sous, being carried through the crowd in a sad farewell after Israeli forces shot him.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed Saturday the martyrdom of two Palestinians and the wounding of 11, three of whom are suffering from serious injuries, after being shot by the Israeli occupation forces in Jenin camp.
According to the ministry, the first martyr is Mahmoud Al-Sous, 18, and the second martyr is Ahmad Mohammad Hussein Daraghmeh, 19, from Tubas.
PICTURES: The last farewell of two Palestinian teenagers, who were murdered by Israeli occupation forces' live bullets in Jenin this morning. pic.twitter.com/TrDWvZ825h
Local sources report that the occupation forces surrounded the house of Mohammad Abu Zina in Jenin amid the outbreak of violent confrontations between the Israeli occupation forces and the Resistance fighters, noting that helicopters were flying over the site of the violence.
The Al-Quds Brigades in Jenin confirmed, in a statement, that its fighters “are confronting the occupation forces inside the camp with heavy firing of bullets,” revealing that “a military jeep was directly targeted and damaged by a number of explosive devices.”
The Jenin Brigade said that “its fighters targeted sniper positions in the vicinity of the camp by firing bullets.”
After arresting the brother of freed prisoner Mohammed Abu Zina, the occupation forces withdrew from Jenin camp, according to local sources.
After announcing the martyrdom of two young Palestinian boys, the death toll from confrontations rose to four in 24 hours.
On Friday, Adel Ibrahim Daoud, who was 14 years old, lost his life to Israeli bullets to his head in Qalqilya in the West Bank. Another Palestinian teenager, Mahdi Ladadwa, 17 years old, was also killed in the confrontations which erupted in Ramallah.
On Friday evening, violent confrontations erupted between the Israeli occupation forces and Palestinians in the town of Al-Isawiya, occupied Al-Quds.
Local sources said that the occupation forces stormed the town of Al-Isawiya and deployed in its streets. The IOF fired rubber bullets and grenades to disperse the Palestinian who defended the town by throwing stones, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails toward the occupation forces. Palestinians also resorted to burning the occupation flag in a symbolic move to express their commitment to liberation.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 