Clashes have intensified around the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, with the Israeli army repeatedly attempting to storm the camp, which is one of the most densely populated areas of the Strip and the most important stronghold for Al -Qassam, affiliated with Hamas. Brigades, in the northern Gaza region.
While on Tuesday the Israeli army announced that it had surrounded the Jabalia area and that it had bombed the surrounding areas with planes, artillery and tanks to prepare the area for fighting, and that it had also used drones to attack militants in the tunnels at outskirts of In the area, sources from the Palestinian factions told Asharq Al-Awsat that fighters repelled attempts to storm the camp and the town (Jabalia), where violent clashes took place, as well as in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood. , within which the army managed to advance, and in the Al-Sabra axis, in the Al-Thalathini axis, and in Sheikh Radwan, Al-Nasr, Al-Tawam and Juhr Al-Dik.
In the last few hours the Israeli army has penetrated most of these areas, but faces continuous attacks as it tries to penetrate further into the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood and enter Jabalia.
Control of Jabalia and the Zaytoun neighborhood is one of the most difficult tasks facing the Israeli army, which has acknowledged fierce battles with fighters from the Al-Qassam Brigades.
In an effort to encourage his soldiers and boost their morale, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy visited his soldiers in Gaza and told them: “You are doing wonderful work that truly commands admiration, and here you have acted forcefully ; This caused serious damage to the Hamas Beit Hanoun Brigade. The road ahead of us is still long, but we are obliged to cross it and really achieve the maximum possible results, in the sense of dismantling (Hamas) militarily and authoritatively and ensuring security around us in this region and in the cities of the coverage , as well as returning the kidnapped.
He added: “All these things work together and you must realize that the work you are doing in this maneuver creates better conditions for the return of kidnapped people. It harms Hamas and creates pressure, and we will continue to apply this pressure.”
The occupation army brought the “162nd Division”, the “401st Armored Brigade”, the “Nahal Infantry Brigade”, the “551st Reserve Brigade” and other elite forces to the vicinity of Jabalia, and claimed to having bombed and clashed with Hamas fighters on the outskirts.
The Times of Israel confirmed that Jabalia is a Hamas stronghold and has been one of the main targets of the Israeli army’s war against the movement in Gaza. About 117,000 Palestinians live in Jabalia camp, the largest in Gaza, in an area no larger than 1.4 square kilometers, many of whom have remained in the camp during the current war.
If Israel takes control of Jabalia and Zeytoun, as it expects, then its operations will be able to expand southward, which is another phase not yet begun in the war that seemed more complicated than the Israelis expected when they raised the slogan “crush Hamas.” , a goal that Israel recently replaced with three goals that include destroying “Hamas” capabilities and recovering abducted people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told soldiers of the 8101 Reserve Division in northern Israel on Tuesday that he had identified three objectives for the war in the Gaza Strip: “The first objective is to destroy (Hamas). The second objective is to recover the kidnapped people and we are making progress in this direction. I don’t think it’s worth talking about too much, but I hope good news comes soon. The third objective is to ensure that what happened in Gaza does not happen again. “We will restore security in the north and south.” But even on the 46th day of the war, these objectives seemed far from being achieved quickly.
On Tuesday, the Al-Qassam Brigades announced the missile bombing of Tel Aviv and also announced that they had hit the Ra’im military base.
Al-Qassam broadcast a video showing that its fighters had managed to locate a group of Israeli soldiers in the Juhr al-Dik area and blew up their houses after booby-trapping them, as well as broadcast videos of close clashes with Israeli soldiers.
Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Al-Qassam, confirmed that 60 Israeli military vehicles, including 10 troop transports, were targeted within 72 hours and that soldiers were killed in ambushes.
The Israeli army acknowledged the loss of more officers and soldiers in Gaza and announced on Tuesday the killing of two more soldiers during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing to 70 the number of soldiers killed in the ground operation against Hamas. since the start of the ground incursion into the Gaza Strip on October 27th, and 390 since the Hamas attack on October 7th.
The fighting in the Jabalia area also includes the Indonesian hospital, near which Israel has bombed and killed Palestinians in an attempt to seize it, claiming it contained a network of tunnels beneath it. This is a story the army has repeated regarding “Al-Shifa,” which before taking control reportedly contained the headquarters of the “Al-Qassam” command. The Israelis have been unable to provide conclusive evidence to support their claims, despite announcing the discovery of a tunnel near the “Al-Shifa” complex.
Fighting has intensified outside the Indonesian hospital in recent days, and Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that medical staff and hundreds of patients and displaced people were still trapped inside the hospital, with supplies dwindling.
As fighting intensified around Jabalia, Israel shelled other areas north and south of the Gaza Strip, including a school in Al-Faluja, houses in the Beit Lahia project, a school in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip , and houses in Deir Al-Balah, Khan Yunis, Al-Shuja’iya, Al-Sabra neighborhood, Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Jabalia and the Nuseirat refugee camp.