Gaza Resistance destroys 20+ Israeli vehicles, 2 officers killed
6 Min Read
Among announced operations, a PFLP spokesperson has revealed that the group foiled a special Israeli operation aimed at freeing an Israeli officer from captivity.
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An al-Qassam Brigades fighter plants a Shawaz explosive device on the hull of an Israeli Merkava tank in Khan Yunis, in footage released on December 30, 2023. (Al-Qassam Brigades/Military media)
On the 85th of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Resistance has announced a multitude of operations, conducted by several factions, across the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli occupation admits to additional losses on Saturday.
Two officers, a Master Sergeant serving under the Golani Brigade's 7086th Battalion Combat Engineering Corps and a Captain serving as the team commander in the Givati Brigade's reconnaissance unit, were killed by the Palestinian Resistance in the central and southern Gaza Strip, respectively.
Another Golani combat engineer was seriously injured in the same operation in the central Gaza Strip, where the occupation recently expanded its invasion into the al-Bureij refugee camp, suffering heavy losses. The occupation said that another one of its reservists was seriously wounded in the same area.
Additionally, the occupation military's spokesperson said that an officer in the Givati Brigade and a reservist in the Nahal Brigade's Combat Engineering Battalion were seriously injured in the northern Gaza Strip.
The occupation's military also admitted to a serious injury among the ranks of its Nahal Brigade in the Gaza Envelope, just outside the Gaza Strip. Although the IOF's spokesperson did not detail the events leading to the injury, Palestinian Resistance factions have consistently bombarded envelope settlements, targeting groupings of Israeli soldiers and armored vehicle positions.
List and analysis of December 30 operations
On the other hand, Resistance factions have relentlessly and effectively pushed back against the occupation's expanded invasion into southern and central areas of the Gaza Strip. Khan Yunis and al-Bureij saw the lion's share of confrontations in these areas, where the Resistance has documented its effective strategies which have cost the Occupation heavy casualties, evident in an increased rate of casualties among occupation soldiers.
Resistance fighters also confronted occupation forces at the Sheikh Aajlin axis near the coast of Gaza. The coastal area is located to the southwest of Gaza City, and a couple of operations announced by the Resistance indicate its ability to conduct operations behind enemy lines.
Al-Qassam Brigades
Gaza City
Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades led operations throughout the Gaza Strip, destroying or damaging a total of 21 Israeli military vehicles, including Merkava tanks, armored personnel carriers (APCs), and Humvees.
In Sheikh Aajlin, the Brigades introduced a new sniper rifle for the first time, the M99 anti-material rifle. In a statement, the faction announced that it shot down an Israeli occupation soldier in Sheikh Aajlin with an M99 sniper rifle. It is still unclear whether the rifle is the Chinese-made Zijiang M99 or the Barrett-made M99, however, both rifles have anti-material and long-range capabilities.
Read more: Al-Qassam introduces Russian-made portable rocket to Gaza combat
In the same area, the Brigades detonated pre-set Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) at a road that an Israeli convoy was traveling through, destroying two Humvees and attacking the force with assault rifles.
Al-Qassam fighters also shot a thermobaric rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at an infantry force taking refuge in a building in the area, while another group targeted a Merkava tank with al-Qassam's, locally produced, al-Yassin RPG.
Further east, the Brigades fighters ambushed a force of 20 soldiers in the Sheikh al-Radwan neighborhood, killing and injuring members of the force. The Brigades also deployed a sapper force to plant a Shawaz (explosively formed penetrator) on a Mekrava tank in the same neighborhood.
On the Tuffaah and Daraj neighborhoods, closer to the center of Gaza City, al-Qassam fighters destroyed eight Israeli Merkava tanks and ambushed an Israeli infantry force.
Central and Southern Gaza Strip
In the al-Bureij refugee camp, the Brigades targeted a total of eight occupation armored vehicles, confirming the complete destruction of an APC. Further south, the Khuzaa neighborhood of Khan Yunis was destroyed.
مشاهد من التحام مجاهدي القسام مع آليات العدو في محاور مدينة خان يونس.#الميادين #طوفان_الأقصى #خان_يونس pic.twitter.com/VJgOkr3md6
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 30, 2023
Read more: Resistance blows up IOF tanks, vehicles in southern, central Gaza
Al-Quds Brigades
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad's al-Quds Brigades announced a greater sum of operations in Khan Yunis, saying that its mortar units launched attacks on occupation forces positioned around the district, as well as the 5th Street leading into the city. Al-Quds Brigades fighters also directly engaged occupation forces since the early hours of the morning in Khan Yunis.
The group also launched salvos of rockets towards occupied Askalan to the north of the Gaza Strip and announced a joint operation with al-Qassam fighters, in which fighters launched rocket artillery and fired mortar rounds at an Israeli command and control center Abu Ourayban in the northern Gaza Strip.
Additionally, the Brigades showcased its versatile arsenal by launching rocket attacks on "Nir Am" and "Mefalsim" to the east of Gaza City, amid supposed Israeli ground control in the area from which rockets were launched.
#سرايا_القدس تنشر مشاهد من قلب محاور التقدم في شمال قطاع #غزة لقصف عسقلان وغلاف غزة برشقات صاروخية ودك الآليات العسكرية الصهيونية بحمم الهاون.#طوفان_الأقصى #فلسطين pic.twitter.com/kAPsXDxxmH
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 30, 2023
PFLP
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's (PFLP) Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades announced that its special forces are engaged in fierce confrontations in Khan Yunis and al-Bureij. In the central Gaza Strip, the Brigades targeted an Israeli APC with an imported tandem RPG.
Significantly, the Brigades' spokesperson, Abu Jamal, released a voice-recorded statement, for the first time since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was first launched on October 7.
Abu Jamal announced that a force guarding an Israeli occupation officer, taken captive on October 7, foiled a special Israeli force attempting to retrieve the captive, causing casualties among its ranks.
Furthermore, Abu Jamal revealed that Israeli warplanes targeted the area of the foiled operation killing the Israeli captives and injuring some of the PFLP fighters. The PFLP was able to appropriate an IOF laptop and several flash drives from the force, which contain sensitive information, including maps and plans for attacks on several axes.
The PFLP spokesperson also announced that the Brigades destroyed or damaged a total of 95 armored vehicles since the start of the ground invasion, saying that its command has deployed fighters in every axis of confrontation throughout the Gaza Strip.
DFLP, al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine's National Resistance Brigades announced that its fighters targeted an Israeli occupation force with an IED in Khan Yunis, killing and injuring its members.
On the other hand, al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, announced that its fighters targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with an imported tandem RPG in the city of Khan Yunis.
