At around 6:30 a.m., Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza launched a surprise attack on Israel from land, sea, and air, as thousands of rockets have been launched into Israel and reportedly dozens of Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed and abducted by the resistance.
Following weeks of protest at Gaza’s border fence, the “Revolutionary Youth” have suspended actions following Qatari and Egyptian “mediation” to halt protests.
The fighting in Ein al-Helweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon between Fatah militants and Islamist armed groups didn’t happen in a vacuum. Lebanese analysts speculate that Israel and the PA are behind recent tensions.
As the ruling power in Gaza, Hamas has had to balance its governmental responsibilities with its commitment to resistance. It has done so by delegating resistance to other factions and adopting the “unity of fields” strategy.
Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza have not yet responded to the Israeli invasion of Jenin, but political analysts say if the assault on the city is prolonged then “confrontation is inevitable.”
After a ten day siege, the Israeli army invaded Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho and assassinated five resistance fighters in the camp, signaling the extension of armed resistance beyond Nablus and Jenin.
Palestinian refugees in Gaza are being displaced by the Hamas-led government to make way for a coastal highway. Although residents have built their homes out of their own pockets over several generations, the government says they have the right to demolish the homes because the residents do not officially own the land in Al-Shati Refugee Camp.
“When the Israeli gunboat fired towards us, we refused to leave our homes,” Nasser Abu Saif tells Mondoweiss “I spent my life suffering. Now at the end of my life the government will take my home instead of supporting me and my family?”
Mondoweiss Managing Editor Faris Giacaman shares the evolution of Palestinian armed resistance over the past 25 years, and how it set the stage for the latest Israeli attack on Gaza.
Israel’s latest attack on Gaza shows it is running out of options, and creating popular opposition around the world in the process.
Twelve Palestinians, including a five-year-old child, were killed after Israeli air strikes targeted a civilian tower and several locations in the besieged Gaza Strip.