Recent Events
Strong Palestinian Resistance Achieves Results
The Palestine Chronicle reported on Day 108 of fighting that "even by the standards of the strong Palestinian Resistance, as displayed in 108 days of fighting, what is currently taking place in Khan Yunis can only be described as extraordinary. [...] [N]ews from the front indicates that the casualties among Israeli soldiers are possibly as high or even higher than their casualties in the Shejaiya neighborhood that led to the retreat of the Golani Brigade from the Gaza battlefield." Al-Jazeera reports violent clashes broke out southwest of Gaza City following an attempt by the Israeli occupation forces to advance.
Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas) documented the fierce resistance, saying its fighters were able to target a Zionist infantry force with an anti-personnel shell, causing deaths and injuries to Zionist troops west of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip -- hitting a Zionist Merkava tank with an Al-Yassin 105 shell and destroying a second Zionist tank with an Al-Yassin 105 shell, setting it on fire. Al-Qassam Brigades targeted a building where Zionist forces were holed up hitting it with an anti-fortification TBG shell which resulted in more dead and wounded Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). Palestinian snipers were active too with at least one confirmed kill of a Zionist soldier. Al-Qassam also reported that "after targeting the tank and destroying it, a Zionist rescue force attempted to pull the tank from the site of the attack, but our fighters confronted them and prevented them from advancing towards the vehicle, so the warplanes targeted the tank with several missiles, completely crushing it along with everyone inside."
Al-Quds (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) liberation fighters also reported that they had targeted a Zionist military vehicle with a rocket-propelled grenade in the center of Khan Yunis; bombarded with mortar shells a position of enemy soldiers east of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City; struck a gathering of Zionist enemy soldiers with a Badr-1 rocket, east of Al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip; and engaged in fierce clashes using machine guns and anti-tank missiles with soldiers and vehicles of the Zionist enemy on the axes of advance of the city of Khan Yunis.
Joint operations by fighters of Saraya Al-Quds and Al-Qassam Brigades bombed a supply line and route for the Zionist enemy's vehicles east of Jabaliya with a barrage of mortar shells as well as gatherings of enemy soldiers and vehicles on the axes of advance in the city of Khan Yunis. They also targeted a group of enemy soldiers with machine guns inside tents set up near a watchtower in the vicinity of the Eastern Cemetery east of Jabaliya, while in Khan Yunis, they struck a Zionist tank and a D9 military bulldozer with tandem and RPG shells.
From Lebanon, Hezbollah reported that "In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their brave and honorable resistance, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance" targeted a gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers near the Al-Rahib site with appropriate weapons, achieving a direct hit; scored another direct hit an hour later on Israeli military gatherings in the Abu Dajaj Heights; targeted the Al-Samaqa site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms with rocket weapons as well as a gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Even Menachem settlement, again, achieving direct hits.
Hamas also announced on January 21 that nearly 60 Israeli prisoners had been killed since October 7 due to the ongoing Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
All of it indicates that in the face of IOF heavy losses, U.S. and Israeli claims of the effectiveness of their operations are laughable. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on January 21 talked about a "classified report compiled earlier this month" by the U.S. State Department which estimated Hamas had between 25,000 and 30,000 fighters in Gaza before the war, claiming to base its estimates on intercepted communications, drone surveillance, and Israeli intelligence. The "classified report" estimated between 5,000 and 9,000 Palestinian resistance fighters had been killed and another 10,500 to 11,700 Hamas fighters wounded since the start of Israeli ground and aerial operations against Gaza. To add a real sense of authenticity, WSJ cited the musings of retired Army Gen. Joseph Votel that "the remaining fighters are likely doing "two or three jobs," having assumed the responsibilities of their fallen comrades."
Not to be outdone, Israeli military intelligence put the number at 10,000 Palestinian liberation fighters killed since October 7 and 16,000 wounded. The absurdity of these claims by U.S. and Israeli "intelligence" is evident in the reliable UN and Gaza Health Ministry calculations of roughly 25,000 Palestinians killed since October 7, more than 10,000 of whom are children, a figure which has increased dramatically in the past week.
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 7 - January 26, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54072.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca