Who Has the Upper Hand in Gaza?

Strategic expert Dr. Nidal Abu Zeid said the ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip indicate two opposing scenes: The first to manage the defensive battle of the resistance and the second the offensive battle of the occupation army.

But he added the first scene can be described as escalating and the second as descending.

Abu Zeid added to Jordan24 the resistance has succeeded in managing an escalating defensive battle in a more professional manner and contributed to increasing the daily losses on the part of the occupation forces.

He explained that the resistance’s ability to adapt to the geography of the region has been great as witnessed in the battles of Tal al-Hawa and al-Zeitoun neighborhood. He noted that the mercurial movements of the resistance has confused the occupation forces after inflicting heavy losses on them.

Abu Zeid pointed out that the occupation is conducting an offensive battle in which there is a kind of confusion and hesitation, as the occupation army is unable to determine the directions of the attack and is unable to resolve the war despite the passage of 324 days of fighting.

He said this is due to the state of clear exhaustion in the Israeli combat units, as the 98th Paratroopers Division which has been fighting since the beginning of the military operation without stopping, and the 162nd Armored Division fighting in Rafah and has also fought in the north without stopping.

Continue reading
The Bombs Under Gaza’s Rubble Wait to Explode

On top of the mass destruction that Gaza has suffered for the past 10 months, today many local and international organizations are asking what will happen to the unexploded bombs dropped by Israeli warplanes and which now lie under the mass rubble and wreckage of Gaza.

They are deeply worried that another disaster is about to happen because of the large quantity of unexploded bombs and missiles deeply buried under the rubble womb of Gaza.

French newspaper ‘Libération’ reported the Israeli assaults on over 40,000 estimated targets in the Strip created about 39 million tons of rubble in the tiny area of Gaza that spans only 41 kilometers.

According to the report, typically, one in 10 conventional bombs do not detonate. With the ongoing genocide on Gaza and the repeated displacements of 100s of thousands of Palestinians, the risk of accidents and explosions from these unexploded ordnance increases.

Experts warn that each layer of debris could conceal unseen, unexploded ordnance, as reported in the Quds News Network.

The problem becomes riskier because the Israeli army – tanks and warplanes –  is bombing different areas countless times. Jabalia, Tal Al Hawa, Sheikh Radwan, Shujaiya, Nuseirat and many others are being bombed twice, thrice and a fourth time which means the likehood of these “dormant” bombs exploding becomes much higher.

Comstant, bombings, explosion, TNT powder is like to have a health and environmental impacts on the area because of the derivatives this Israeli war is having on localities and spaces: 800,000 tons of asbestos, thousands of bodies, and toxic, organic, and the chemical materials that now lie deeply buried under the rubble.

This is not to say anthing about the hospitals – 36 of them – that have also been subject to endless bombings and military encroachment. Some of these hospitals like Al Shifa Complex in Gaza City is completely destroyed by the Israeli army and now lie in ruin and houses radioactive equipment and biological materials. These now lie beneath the debris like ticking time-bombs.

Expert were always worried about the thousands of unexploded shells and missiles dropped, stating these pose a long-term dangers to the population of Gaza. The UN has estimated that 10% of the ordnance dropped by the Israeli military on the Strip have not  exploded. This means they lie under the scattered streets, lands and homes that have been turned into rubble and debris.

The Government Media Office has warned about recurring incidents of explosions in homes, particularly from canisters made to deceive and harm civilians, especially children. There have been numerous injuries from such devices.

Expert voices inside Gaza and the international community have been made to send specialized engineering teams and explosive experts, and equip and provide local authorities with the necessary technical resources to deal with bomb removal and other hazards safely. But these have been ignored by the Israelis.

Danish newspaper ‘Information’ reported in the first three months of the war on Gaza, around 45,000 bombs were dropped, averaging 500 bombs per day or 21 bombs per hour. This extensive bombing has damaged/or destroyed 50-62% of all buildings in Gaza, according to a study by New York University in collaboration with the University of Oregon. The newspaper warned of severe long-term consequences due to the thousands of unexploded bombs, impacting Palestinians’ recovery efforts after the war according to the Quds News Network.

Unexploded bombs are dangerous to the future of Gaza and would remain apparent after the war ends when the removal of the debris and reconstruction starts. Thus, the demining process is likely to be long-term and of hindrance to the development of Gaza especially in densely-populated areas.

The report noted over 14% of bombs dropped in Gaza remain unexploded, far exceeding earlier estimates of about 6,300 bombs and missiles in the first three months of the conflict.

The presence of numerous unexploded bombs are forcing residents to live in a perpetual war-situation. This is even when the bombs stop raining down, tanks cease fire and the trauma subsides. We are still at stage one of the war; the second stage is who is going to clear these ticking time bombs.

Continue reading
Shot 355 Times! Israel Fears Little Hind

Her name is Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl who was killed by the Israelis while hiding in a car.

Unbelievable is the fact car was riddled with 355 bullets from an Israeli tank that kept pounding at the car with no mercy.

She was finally shot while surrounded by her unarmed dead relatives, an uncle, an aunt, three cousins who were fleeing Gaza city’s Tal Al Hawa at the end of January 2024.

The bodies of Hind and two paramedics who were sent to rescue her were found on 10 February, 2024. The story of the Killing of Hind Rajab is recounted at length on Wikipedia and many others have investigated the terrible incident in the following months.

Her name and images have continued to make headlines on the social media with a #HindRajab  tag since then, and because of the horrific nature of the killing as her body was found 12 days after she was killed with shocking audiotapes recalling her final moments, all alone, as she was killed with Israeli bullets.

Imagined: While the Israeli tank was shooting at them, one-cousin remained with her, 15-year-old Layan Hamdeh. When she was killed by more bullets, she was talking to officers in the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Then Hind picked up the phone and was told to keep hiding in the car.

Israel denied responsibility but all the evidence suggest it was their bullets. Today the “shot 355 times” continues to dominate the social media with the “6-year-old hiding in a car annihilated by an Israeli tank”.

Continue reading
Despite Ruins, Palestinian Resistance in Top Shape

Jordanian military and strategic expert Nidal Abu Zeid said the videoclips broadcast by the Palestinian resistance groups on the methods of managing operations, ambushes, and targeting the occupation forces, prove they are still cohesive and their command and control system is capable of continuing and inflicting losses on the Israeli occupation forces.

Abu Zeid added the resistance operations are managed by an integrated system. He said the videoclips show there is a commander for the operation who directs, then there is the target reconnaissance based on intelligence gathering with another team videoing and photographing the operations.

These elements confirm such a system in the works  is still fine, stressing the Israeli occupation forces were forced to retreat and not withdraw from Al-Sinaa Street in Tal Al-Hawa after the ambush that caused much losses in reference to the latest Israeli military actions.

Abu Zeid said this prompted the occupation forces to withdraw not just from Tal Al Hawa but from the entire northern Gaza Strip according to Jordan 24.

Abu Zaid pointed out most of the destructive vehicles that appeared in the circulated clips are M113 troop carriers, maintaining that this reinforces the theory that the occupation resorted to using this type of old carriers that were discontinued in 2006 due to the significant losses of modern Tiger troop carriers in the Israeli army.

He indicated the M113 carriers are not as efficient, effective and armored which also explains the high losses among the Israeli soldiers as the Israeli army announced.

That the means the loss curve is still rising between 10 to 20 soldiers per day, which imposes challenges on the occupation army in terms of manpower resources.

Abu Zeid stated the statements of Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi about the urgent need to recruit new elements into the army and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant statements about the necessity of recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jews who are exempt from military service confirm the magnitude of the losses the army is suffering daily.

Abu Zeid continued the Israeli combat doctrine is based on three pillars: Deterrence, early warning, and rapid resolution) pointing out the Palestinian resistance groups have succeeded in stripping the enemy of these and which explains the clear imbalance in the military operations and the occupation’s inability to take the upper hand.

Regarding the ongoing negotiations in Doha, Abu Zeid said Netanyahu is trying to booby-trap these talks and obstruct their progress by imposing conditions related to guarantees for the resumption of military action at any time.

These aim at preventing the return of the displaced to northern Gaza, and evade the issue of negotiating with the Egyptian side on the status of the Philadelphia axis, which will create further conflict between the government and the military generals and leaders of the security services.

Continue reading
Maj-Gen Al-Duwairi: Tal Al Hawa Hard For Israel

The battle is raging in Tal Al-Hawa, southwest of Gaza City, and the fighting there is no less fierce than what is happening in the east of the city, referring to the Shujaiya neighborhood, said military and strategic expert Major-General Fayez Al-Duwairi.

https://www.assawsana.com/article/635430

In his military analysis, Al-Duwairi doubted what the Israeli media was saying  about the transfer of three soldiers wounded in the Gaza battles. He said the Israeli army admitted it was subjected to four difficult security incidents  in Tal al-Hawa.

The expert who is a military analyst on Al Jazeera believes these difficult events resulted in the killing of more Israeli soldiers, basing his view also on the Information provided by  Al-Qassam Brigades and Saraya Al-Quds, the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

He pointed out their statements are backed by videos confirming the credibility of the resistance, pointing out Israel is forced to announce its human losses when there are successful ambushes or effective combat operations, as it anticipates the Qassam videos of deaths and injuries of their soldiers.

Based on this, Al-Duwairi predicted the Israeli casualties ranged from 6 to 8 on average, some serious, in addition to deaths because of the hard nature of the incidents while ruling out the total of only three casualties, as claimed by the Israeli media.

He said he does not take the Israeli announcements seriously, recalling the statements they repeatedly made claiming the dismantling of the Al-Qassam Brigades in northern Gaza, and confirming that he evaluates the resistance on field performance.

Al-Duwairi also cited the last statements of spokesman Abu Ubaida in which he said the Al-Qassam Brigades restored its 24 brigades in the whole areas of the Gaza Strip, and also strengthened their defensive capabilities, stressing the brigades’ human capabilities are in top shape.

Thus, Al-Qassam rehabilitated its 24 brigades both materially and in human resources with combat efficiency at 80% of its situation before 7 October, the military expert maintained.

He warned Tel al-Hawa was subject to many incursions because it was on the edge of the northern Netzarim axis, but added the commander of its battalion has good  information about the Israeli occupation army, providing a forward-looking reading of their third phase of the war.

He concluded the resistance led by Al-Qassam, are able to discern the intentions of the Israelis army and their goals by monitoring its communications, ground movements, and the intensity of its bombing whilst determining the direction of future Israeli actions and preparing for it before they begin.

Al-Duwairi also pointed out the third phase of the Israeli war on Gaza is related to the occupation noticing several elements, such as the emergence of resistance leaders, administrative arrangements, or information about tunnels or detained prisoners.

On Monday evening, the Israeli media reported the occurance of four difficult security incidents against the Israeli army in Tel al-Hawa, with news of military helicopters landing for short periods on the Netzarim axis, to evacuate the Israeli wounded.

In turn, Al-Qassam Brigades reported they detonated an anti-personnel device against a force of 6 Israeli soldiers in Tal al-Hawa, leaving them dead and wounded. It also announced the targeting of an Israeli foot force in the chalet area, west of Tal al-Hawa, leaving its members dead and wounded.

In the same area, Al-Qassam destroyed a military jeep with a “Al-Yassin 105” shell on Al-Sinaa Street, while also targeting an Israeli troop carrier with a “Shawaz 3” device on Roundabout 17 in the same neighborhood, and a “D9” bulldozer with a “Shawaz 3” device on Al-Rashid Street.

Continue reading