Zionist forces withdrew some of its soldiers from the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in northern Gaza on 15 May following fierce battles with the Palestinian Resistance.
The troops withdrew after a week of operations there, Zionist media reported. Citing army sources, it added that fighting is ongoing in three areas: Jabalia in the north, Rafah in the south, and the Netzarim axis near the center of the strip.
“This morning the forces of the battle team of the Nahal Brigade have finished operating in the Al-Zaytoun area and are preparing for further offensive operations, the battle team of the 2nd Brigade continues to operate in the Al-Zaytoun area,” an army spokesman said in a statement.
Hamas’ Qassam Brigades said on 14 May that they targeted Zionist troops in Al-Zaytoun with mortar fire.
Last week, Tel Aviv confirmed the killing of five soldiers in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood. According to an army probe, they were killed by explosives detonated by resistance fighters. Fighting continued in the area in the days that followed.
Those killed belonged to the 931st Battalion of the Nahal Brigade, which withdrew from the neighborhood on Wednesday morning.
As part of efforts to clear north Gaza of Hamas fighters in February, occupation forces launched an operation in Al-Zaytoun and took severe losses during battles with the resistance. The army withdrew from the neighborhood on 29 February under heavy fire.
This latest withdrawal from the area comes as intense battles rage in northern Gaza, where the Zionist army has returned months after claiming to have dismantled Hamas’ battalions.
Fighting in north Gaza’s Jabalia area in particular has been a major thorn in the side of the occupation..
The Qassam Brigades announced in a statement on Wednesday afternoon that it carried out an operation that killed 12 soldiers in the Jabalia refugee camp. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) Quds Brigades also said it engaged in fierce clashes in Jabalia on Wednesday, leaving several troops dead and wounded.
Rockets continue to fire out of northern Gaza towards cities and towns in southern occupied Palestine, indicating that the resistance’s military capabilities are intact.
Resistance operations against Zionist troops in the southernmost city of Rafah have been ongoing since the army seized the city’s border crossing on 7 May and began pushing into the city. Qassam fighters sniped a soldier in Rafah on 15 May.
The Popular Front announced they had shelled gatherings of Zionist forces east of the Jabalia camp with mortar shells.
The Democratic Front detonated an explosive device in the vicinty of Ibn Taymiyyah Mosque in the Brazilian neighborhood, east of Rafah. They also targeted Zionist forces and military vehicles east of Rafah with mortar shells.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade engaged in clashes in the vicinty of Abu Zeitoun schools, east of Jabalia. They also used RPG’s and machine guns to confront the enemy troops advancing east of the Jabalia camp. They bombarded an enemy position with mortar shells on “Trance” street, and targeted a Merkava tank with an RBG85 shell, hitting it directly.
Wednesday’s battles coincided with Nakba Day, the anniversary of the killing, uprooting, and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1948.
The Lions’ Den Resistance group stated that its fighters engaged in confrontations with occupation forces near the Nablus Specialty Hospital in the occupied West Bank.
Late Tuesday, the occupation stormed the towns of Hazma and Anata in occupied al-Quds, al-Ersal neighborhood in al-Bireh, the town of Birzeit north of Ramallah, the town of Azzun in Qalqilya, the cities of Tulkam and Nablus, the town of Husan in Beit Lahm, and raided several Palestinian homes.
In Tulkarm, occupation forces detained three Palestinians, including two children.
Furthermore, early on Monday, occupation forces stormed the towns of Ya’bad, Arraba, and Jalboun in the Jenin governorate.
The towns of al-Jarad and Nasser, among others, were also subjected to assaults, which included the storming of several houses.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade clashed with Zionist forces in the city of Tubas using rifles and explosive devices. While Saraya Al-Quds confronted the occupiers in Tubas with an ambush as they were retreating.
Israeli occupation forces have escalated their violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in recent years, especially since the beginning of the genocidal war on Gaza last October. Towns and cities in the West Bank endure daily raids, alongside extensive detention campaigns, resulting in an increase in the number of martyrs and injuries as a result of confrontations with the occupation forces.
Yemen targets US war ships
The spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced on Wednesday an operation carried out by the Naval Forces targeting the American USS Mason destroyer in the Red Sea. According to Saree, a number of anti-ship missiles were used to directly hit the vessel.
The Yemeni navy and missile forces also conducted a joint operation against the Destiny ship in the Red Sea, confirming a direct hit, after it had violated the ban placed on Zionist or Zionist regime-bound ships on April 20. Saree revealed that the Destiny vessel had attempted to trick the YAF by claiming it was sailing to a non-affiliated port, but was heading in reality to Umm al-Rashrash [Eilat].
The Yemeni Armed Forces had monitored the ship and warned it against heading to occupied Palestinian ports, however, it insisted on violating the ban. Consequently, the ship has been added to the list of targeted ships that will not be allowed to sail through the area of operations.
The YAF spokesperson stated that the operations came to champion the resilient people of Palestine and as a response to the US-UK aggression against Yemen.
He further affirmed the continued commitment of the Yemeni Armed Forces to counter Zionist maritime activity in the region of operations, until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.
Saree: Yemen has launched phase four of escalation in support of Gaza
Yahya Saree announced on Monday the commencement of the fourth phase of the escalation against the Zionist occupation, indicating that significant operations as part of the phase are forthcoming.
Earlier, Sanaa announced initiating stage four of its operations comprising two parts.
The first part directly went into effect and expanded the scope of attacks to include the Mediterranean Sea, while Yemenis said the second part would be triggered in case of an attack on Rafah, which was launched last week.
The second part enforces a new equation that would hold the operator of any ship that docks in occupied Palestinian ports liable and would make all its ships within the reach of the Yemeni Armed Forces a legitimate target.
In a speech during an event organized by the Moral Guidance Department of the Yemeni Ministry of Defense in Sanaa, Saree said that new details will be revealed in the coming days regarding the ships that breached the blockade imposed by Yemen on vessels heading to occupation ports via the Mediterranean Sea.
In this context, he emphasized that the Yemeni operations and position in support of Gaza “are not merely slogans for gaining popularity,” but rather “a stance rooted in practice,” affirming that “the Yemeni people are fully prepared to sacrifice lives [for that purpose], and if given a path, millions would go to defend Gaza against the Zionist enemy.”
Saree pointed out that the Yemeni people “have prepared themselves for battle if the Americans launched a ground attack on the country, or if a path leading to Palestine was opened for them,” revealing that the Yemeni Armed Forces “have significant preparations for the fifth and sixth phases in support of the Palestinian people.”