Resistance factions continue to successfully confront occupation forces across the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring enemy soldiers.
Multiple Resistance factions across the Gaza Strip announced successful operations against occupation soldiers and positions on Friday, highlighting the Resistance’s success and steadfastness amid a continued and expanding Israeli ground aggression.
Below is a list of operations and statements made by different Resistance factions on December 15, 2023.
DFLP
The spokesperson of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s, National Resistance Brigades, Abu Khaled, confirmed that the Brigades’ fighters, alongside fighters from other factions, continue to set up successful ambushes targeting occupation forces in al-Shujaiya and Khan Younis.
Abu Khaled also revealed that the Resistance is engaged in fierce confrontations in Street 5, in the city of Khan Younis, inflicting heavy casualties among enemy forces. He also highlighted the National Resistance’s increased rocket and mortar firing, targeting Israeli positions in and around the “Kissufim” military site, as the Zionisti military transfers its forces to this site to reinforce its floundering forces in Khan Younis.
Al-Qassam Brigades
On Friday afternoon, Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades announced that its fighters confronted Zionist occupation forces from point-blank range, in Juhr al-Dik, where occupation forces have set up a camp.
The operation, which saw al-Qassam fighters face-to-face with at least 10 Zionist soldiers, highlights, yet again, the Resistance’s ability to launch an offensive behind enemy lines within the Gaza Strip. The Brigade’s statement confirmed that Resistance fighters seized an M-16 assault rifle that belonged to one of the soldiers targeted in the operation.
The Resistance fighters, who conducted the operation on Friday, withdrew safely from the site of confrontations.
It is worth noting that Juhr al-Dik has hosted campsites and command HQs for invading forces, established within the first few weeks of the Zionist ground invasion of the Strip. The operation sheds light on the IOF’s inability to maintain areas of control within the Gaza Strip.
List of al-Qassam operations
- The Brigades also targeted a building in Juhr al-Dik, where occupation forces were taking position, with a thermobaric charge, killing and injuring members of the force.
- Sapper units also detonated pre-set explosive devices in a building to the east of Khan Younis, completely destroying the building, and thus killing and injuring a number of soldiers who had taken cover inside it.
- The Brigades rocket units also targeted Kibbutz “Nirim”, located to the east of Khan Younis, with homegrown Rajoum 114 mm multiple rocket launchers and heavy caliber mortars.
The Brigades units also launched a salvo of rockets toward occupied al-Quds, at around 6:00 pm (local time).
Al-Quds Brigades
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) al-Quds Brigades confirmed multiple occasions in which its fighters targeted Israeli armored vehicles and tanks with rocket-propelled grenades.
- On Friday morning, fighters in al-Sheikh Radwan to the west of Gaza City targeted two Zionist tanks with imported tandem RPG charges, confirming direct hits to the intended targets.
- The Brigades mortar units also targeted occupation forces to the west of Gaza City.
- Rocket units launched concentrated attacks on “Mivtahim” and “Ofakim” on Friday morning.
- Fighters in Beit Lahia, located at the northernmost point of the Gaza Strip, targeted three Zionist armored vehicles with imported tandem charges.
Most importantly, an al-Quds Brigades unit confirmed that it had targeted three Zionist armored vehicles positioned to the east of Gaza City, adding that they killed, from point-blank range, two soldiers taking cover in a building.
PFLP
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (PFLP) Abu Ali Moustapha Brigades said its fighters who had returned to their bases on Friday confirmed that they targeted a Zionist armored personnel carrier (APC) and a tank with RPGs at the Jabalia refugee camp.
The Brigades’ fighters also charged an occupation force in al-Sheikh Radwan, engaging the force from point-blank range, surviving the exchange, and confirming casualties among enemy forces.
Reports of Mercenaries in the field
Al-Qassam Brigades have reported suspicions that the occupation’s military is employing mercenaries in its aggression on the Gaza Strip, the military spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida, announced on Friday.
In detail, Abu Obeida stressed that the number of confirmed kills reported by the Brigades’ fighters exceeds by far the numbers admitted by the occupation forces, adding that casualties reported by al-Qassam fighters do not include the crewmembers and commanders of armored vehicles targeted by the Resistance factions in the Gaza Strip.
It is worth noting that other Palestinian Resistance factions, including al-Quds Brigades, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and Abu Ali Moustapha Brigades have also reported multiple confirmed kills, among enemy lines across the Gaza Strip, in the past few days.
The spokesperson said the Zionist military is “falling apart”, confirming that al-Qassam Brigades is still ready to undertake its task of resisting the occupation.
He also confirmed that the Brigades destroyed more than 100 armored vehicles in the past five days, adding that its fighters detonated pre-set explosive devices in buildings that occupation forces used for cover during confrontations.
Abu Obeida pointed to the United States’ leading role, among the “powers of injustice and aggression,” in providing the occupation with the necessary military support, through a military airbridge.
The spokesperson stressed the readiness of al-Qassam fighters to confront and decisively repel the invading forces. He confirmed the exceptional heroism displayed by Resistance fighters, drawing a stark contrast to the cowardice of the Zionist military.
He then addressed the general Palestinian populace, reiterating the necessity of revolting against the occupation and employing all possible means of resistance in the West Bank. Abu Obeida also addressed the free people of the Arab and Islamic Ummahs, as well as its fighters, to escalate their actions in the face of the occupation.
Ansarallah resistance pressures global firms
The world’s second-largest shipping company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, announced, on Friday, the suspension of all container traffic through the Red Sea until further notice. This decision comes in response to an attack by the Yemeni Armed Forces on its container ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Thursday.
Simultaneously, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced that their Naval forces carried out a military operation against the Maersk Gibraltar cargo ship, which was en route to the Zionist occupation entity.
In a statement, the Yemeni Armed Forces confirmed that the ship was targeted with a drone, adding that a direct hit was confirmed after the Maersk Gibraltar’s crew refused to respond to warning calls from the Yemeni Naval Forces. The company claimed that the ship was not impacted by the attack.
“Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice,” a company’s spokesperson was quoted as saying by Sky News.
It is worth noting that Maersk announced last week that it will start imposing a new risk surcharge on container shipments heading to “Israel” starting next year, citing the need to cover rising insurance premiums due to the unstable security situation.
Hapag-Lloyd mulling suspension
Later in the day, the German international shipping company Hapag-Lloyd issued a comparable statement, saying it would stop all container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday when it would reassess the situation.
“Hapag-Lloyd will take additional measures to secure the safety of our crews,” the spokesperson said, declining to provide additional comments.
The decision was reportedly prompted by an incident in which a projectile was launched at the Liberian-flagged cargo ship Al Jasrah, owned by Hapag-Lloyd. The attack, allegedly launched from parts of Yemen controlled by Ansar Allah, occurred 50 nautical miles north of the port of Mocha, resulting in a fire on the deck and one container falling overboard.
However, while the Yemeni Armed Forces claimed responsibility for the attack on the Maersk, no such confirmation was made regarding the Hapag-Lloyd vessel, knowing that whenever the Yemeni forces conduct any operation, they openly and explicitly claim responsibility for it via official statements and televised appearances by the spokesperson. This has been the case since the beginning of their operations in support of the Palestinian people.
The announcements will send a shockwave through the rest of the container market as shipping leaders mull their next steps after near-daily attacks this week.
Yemeni military announces attacks on 2 ships heading to Zionist ports
Earlier today, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree publicly announced that the Yemeni Naval Forces targeted the MSC Alanya and the MSC PALATIUM III with anti-ship missiles, dealing direct hits to the two vessels, having refused to heed Yemeni warnings in support of the oppressed Palestinian people, who are currently being subjected to massacres, destruction, and a siege in the Gaza Strip, in implementation of the directives of Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and in response to the calls of the Yemeni people.
The Brigadier General emphasized that all vessels, heading to the occupation’s ports, will continue to be targeted, until “Israel” lifts its blockade on Gaza and allows for the passage of necessities into the Strip, including food and medical supplies.
This is happening as the matter got worse for the occupation after the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) announced a new equation following a US veto on a ceasefire in Gaza at the UNSC meeting, which added ships heading to “Israel”, regardless of their nationality, to the ban, and expanding its scope to the Arabian Sea, as well the Red Sea.
This comes alongside other attacks claimed by Yemen against Zionist targets, including the launch of long-range cruise missiles and drones on several occasions, as well as ballistic missiles at “Eilat” located in the southernmost region of occupied Palestine.