Palestine (Washington Insider Magazine)— Palestinian fighters engaged in intense battles with Israeli forces in the Shujayea neighborhood of northern Gaza City, a day after Israeli tanks and troops advanced, causing tens of thousands of civilians to flee in fear.
On Friday, al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, announced that they detonated a booby-trapped residential building in Shujayea, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring five others. They reported using an undetonated F-16 missile recovered after it was fired by an Israeli warplane to create the explosive device.
Simultaneously, the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, confirmed that its fighters continued to engage Israeli forces in fierce clashes, using anti-tank rockets and small arms to inflict further casualties.
The Israeli military had launched heavy air and artillery strikes the day before, followed by a ground assault with armored vehicles in northern Gaza. This renewed offensive came after Israel initially claimed in January that Hamas had been “dismantled” in the area.
The fighting has led to a mass exodus of Palestinian civilians, with many carrying their belongings through streets littered with rubble, braving intense summer heat. According to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, at least 60,000 people have been displaced from Gaza City since Thursday.
While no official confirmation of the soldiers’ deaths in Shujayea was available on Friday, Israel’s military reported that one soldier had been killed and nine others injured in various clashes across Gaza over the past 24 hours.
Ongoing Battles in Rafah
Ground operations, supported by air raids, continued in northern Gaza, reportedly killing “dozens” of Palestinian fighters, according to the Israeli army on Friday. This follows remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who suggested that the “intense phase” of the war was nearing its end.
Israeli forces began targeted raids in Shujayea based on intelligence reports indicating the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in the area, the military said in its first detailed report on the operation.
Since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, at least 668 Israeli soldiers have been killed, with over 300 casualties occurring since the ground invasion of Gaza. Another 3,953 soldiers have been wounded.
Israel claims to have killed approximately 15,000 Palestinian fighters during the nearly nine-month-long conflict.
In southern Rafah, Israel lost eight soldiers earlier this month when Hamas fighters ambushed and destroyed a military vehicle with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Palestinian health officials reported that Israeli tank shelling killed at least 11 people in Rafah on Friday. Displaced families in Rafah described chaotic scenes as they fled toward the north to escape intensifying Israeli fire, seeking shelter in Khan Younis.
One resident reported that bulldozers in the Shakoush area had created sand embankments for Israeli tanks to take cover behind. “The situation is extremely dangerous, and many families are leaving towards Khan Younis, even from the Mawasi area as conditions have become unsafe,” the resident told Reuters.
UN: Widespread Displacement and Hunger
According to the UN’s Dujarric, Israeli incursions into al-Mawasi, which had been declared an “evacuation zone,” resulted in many casualties and the displacement of at least 5,000 people.
Much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, with the majority of the population displaced. A UN-backed assessment this week revealed that nearly 500,000 people in Gaza are now facing “catastrophic” hunger as residents struggle to survive.
