Latest news with #AlNasserSalahAlDinBrigades
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Israel faces resistance from armed factions in Gaza city
Israeli troops preparing to seize Gaza city have been fired on by armed groups, as their offensive left dozens more Palestinians dead across the strip. The Israeli army is hunting explosives and dismantling what it says is 'terrorist infrastructure' in the Al Zeitoun area of Gaza city. Residents say an air assault has already flattened the neighbourhood, in what they fear is the first stage of Israel's plan to capture the city. Several armed factions have claimed attacks on Israeli troops in the area. The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said they fired a shell at a Merkava main battle tank in Al Zeitoun. On Friday the Al Nasser Salah Al Din Brigades – a coalition of militants who took part in the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023 – said they 'bombed a gathering' of Israeli troops and vehicles in the area. Statements from the groups were carried by friendly media outlets. The Israeli army said it came under fire from an anti-tank missile, with no injuries reported. 'The troops swiftly located and eliminated the terrorists,' it said on Friday, without specifying when that incident took place. As part of their operations in Al Zeitoun, Israeli troops 'struck and dismantled a booby-trapped structure that stored weapons', the military said. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans last week to capture the Gaza city as a first step towards taking control of the whole territory. The move has been widely condemned amid fears the dire conditions in the strip will worsen further. Gaza health officials raised the war's death toll to 61,827 on Friday, after 51 bodies were brought to hospitals in the previous 24 hours. They said one child died of malnutrition in the same period. The Palestinian news agency Wafa said six people were killed while waiting to receive aid. The UN human rights office said on Friday that at least 1,760 Palestinians had been killed while seeking aid in Gaza since late May, a jump of several hundred since its last published figure in early August. Israel denies a campaign to kill civilians, saying the starvation and chaos at food banks are the fault of Hamas and UN aid workers. 'All of this could have been prevented easily if [aid agency] UNRWA and other humanitarian organisations were allowed to bring in the minimum every day, and that is 500 to 600 trucks of basics,' said UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma. 'We're not asking for the moon here.' Gaza's civil defence agency says Israeli forces have destroyed more than 300 homes in Al Zeitoun neighbourhood in just three days. According to journalist Bilal Al Nabih, the Israeli army has attacked the area at least five times since the war escalated in March, but the current operation is by far the most destructive. Israel's army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said on Thursday that the military was 'completing preparations' for the new offensive in Gaza. 'The campaign will end when we have ensured our security and our future,' he said.
The National
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
'They were firing in the street,' say Khan Younis residents after Israel's orders to leave
The Israeli military on Monday ordered all residents of Khan Younis and nearby areas in southern Gaza to leave immediately ahead of an "unprecedented offensive", as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel planned to take control of the Palestinian enclave in its entirety. People living in Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan must move immediately west to the coastal Mawasi area, army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in an eviction order posted on X. The military "will launch an unprecedented offensive to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organisations in this area", he said. "From this moment, Khan Younis will be considered a dangerous combat zone." The army said on Sunday that its troops were carrying out 'extensive' ground operations throughout northern and southern Gaza as part of a new offensive called Gideon's Chariots. Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that the fighting in Gaza was "intense" and that Israeli forces were "making progress". "We will take control of all the territory of the strip," he said in a video posted to his Telegram channel. The intensified campaign, which Israel says has the aim of freeing remaining hostages and defeating Hamas, began on Saturday as the two sides held indirect ceasefire talks in Qatar. Residents reported heavy Israeli bombardment in the centre of Khan Younis on Monday morning as Israeli forces disguised as displaced Palestinians carried out a raid that killed a member of Al Nasser Salah Al Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. "Heavy explosions and air strikes began in Al Balad area, specifically on Street 5 in the city centre. There were possibly more than 50 air strikes, along with artillery shells falling on the area one after another,' said Khalil Sardah, 28. 'I was at home, standing by the window watching. I saw many people injured and killed in the streets, especially those who usually go out early to bake bread, fetch water, or collect firewood for cooking. I saw vehicles carrying armed men, and on top of the vehicles were belongings of displaced people. They were firing randomly in the street. 'There is a house belonging to the Sarhan family in our area. It was surrounded by special forces, and we saw gunmen coming out of the house after there had been heavy gunfire inside. There were a lot of quadcopters filling the sky and smoke everywhere. From the very first moment, we realised that something serious, an operation was happening. 'When things calmed down a little, we entered the Sarhan house and found our neighbour, Ahmad Sarhan, who is known to work with the Al Nasser Brigades, martyred along with one of his children. There was no one else in the house, even though he has four children. This strongly suggests the arrest of his wife and the remaining children by the Israeli special forces.' Ibrahim Al Astal, 32, who also lives in the area, said residents found 'a box, a sleeping mat and several blankets that appeared to have fallen from the roof of one of the vehicles believed to have been used in the operation. The way these items were arranged and tied together strongly suggested they belonged to a displaced family,' he told The National. There was no immediate confirmation of the raid from the Israeli military. Israeli strikes across Gaza on Monday had killed at 63 people by the evening, including 16 in Khan Younis, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, quoting medical sources. The death toll from the war in Gaza, which began with a deadly attack on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups in October 2023, rose to 53,475, health authorities in the strip said on Monday, with another 121,398 wounded. Alongside its intensified military operations, Israel on Monday began allowing aid to enter Gaza for the first time since March 2, ending a blockade that it said was intended to force concessions from Hamas.
The National
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Khan Younis residents ordered to leave as Netanyahu says Israel will seize full control of Gaza
The Israeli military on Monday ordered all residents of Khan Younis and nearby areas in southern Gaza to leave immediately ahead of an "unprecedented offensive", as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel planned to take control of the Palestinian enclave in its entirety. People living in Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan must move immediately west to the coastal Mawasi area, army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in an eviction order posted on X. The military "will launch an unprecedented offensive to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organisations in this area", he said. "From this moment, Khan Younis will be considered a dangerous combat zone." The army said on Sunday that its troops were carrying out 'extensive' ground operations throughout northern and southern Gaza as part of a new offensive called Gideon's Chariots. Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that the fighting in Gaza was "intense" and that Israeli forces were "making progress". "We will take control of all the territory of the strip," he said in a video posted to his Telegram channel. The intensified campaign, which Israel says has the aim of freeing remaining hostages and defeating Hamas, began on Saturday as the two sides held indirect ceasefire talks in Qatar. Residents reported heavy Israeli bombardment in the centre of Khan Younis on Monday morning as Israeli forces disguised as displaced Palestinians carried out a raid that killed a member of the Al Nasser Salah Al Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. "Heavy explosions and air strikes began in the Al Balad area, specifically on Street 5 in the city centre. There were possibly more than 50 air strikes, along with artillery shells falling on the area one after another,' said Khalil Sardah, 28. 'I was at home, standing by the window watching. I saw many people injured and killed in the streets, especially those who usually go out early to bake bread, fetch water, or collect firewood for cooking. I saw vehicles carrying armed men, and on top of the vehicles were belongings of displaced people. They were firing randomly in the street.' 'There is a house belonging to the Sarhan family in our area. It was surrounded by special forces, and we saw gunmen coming out of the house after there had been heavy gunfire inside. There were a lot of quadcopters filling the sky and smoke everywhere. From the very first moment, we realised that something serious, an operation was happening,' Mr Sardah said. 'When things calmed down a little, we entered the Sarhan house and found our neighbour, Ahmad Sarhan, who is known to work with the Al Nasser Brigades, martyred along with one of his children. There was no one else in the house, even though he has four children. This strongly suggests the arrest of his wife and the remaining children by the Israeli special forces.' Ibrahim Al Astal, 32, who also lives in the area, said residents found 'a box, a sleeping mat and several blankets that appeared to have fallen from the roof of one of the vehicles believed to have been used in the operation. The way these items were arranged and tied together strongly suggested they belonged to a displaced family,' he told The National. There was no immediate confirmation of the raid from the Israeli military. Israeli strikes across Gaza on Monday had killed at 63 people by the evening, including 16 in Khan Younis, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing medical sources. The death toll from the war in Gaza, which began with a deadly attack on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups in October 2023, rose to 53,475, health authorities in the strip said on Monday, with another 121,398 wounded. Alongside its intensified military operations, Israel on Monday began allowing aid to enter Gaza for the first time since March 2, ending a blockade that it said was intended to force concessions from Hamas.
