Near-complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza City, North

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
6 Jan 2024 16:01
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A field source has updated Al Mayadeen on military developments across the Gaza Strip, including a significant withdrawal in the north.

Israeli occupation forces' humvees and vehicles move along Gaza's rubble, in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, January 4, 2024. (AFP)

A field source confirmed to Al Mayadeen the near-complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza City and Northern Governorates in the northern Gaza Strip while maintaining positions in two areas.

The two areas in which Israeli forces still maintain a presence are al-Tawam area and al-Makousi Towers, which extend from the north of the Gaza Strip toward Gaza City. The area is an essential supply and withdrawal route for Israeli occupation forces, the source told Al Mayadeen.

The source also revealed that the occupation did not withdraw from Street 10, which cuts between Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip.

Resistance fighters continuously engaged Israeli occupation forces in the northern and Gaza axes, which prevented Israeli occupation forces from establishing safe positions, pushing them to withdraw toward "Netzarim".

The source pointed out that the areas of al-Bureij, al-Nuseirat, al-Maghazi, al-Mughraqa, and Juhr al-Dik in the central Gaza Strip are witnessing moderate battles coinciding with intense Israeli artillery shelling. The source also said that Khan Younis is experiencing the fiercest confrontations, especially in its center, where the Israeli advance has been lagging.

To the east of Khan Younis, near the separation wall with occupied territories, in the towns of Khuzaa, Aabsan, and Bani Suhaila, occupation forces have not been able to achieve any progress, due to the Resistance's operations.

In the southernmost region of Rafah, "intermittent aerial bombardment with no ground incursion, and air raids continue throughout the sector but at a low intensity."

Al-Qassam fighters report to base

Returning from the frontline, al-Qassam fighters reported on multiple successful operations conducted against Israeli occupation forces in Khan Younis, Khuzaa, and Bani Suhaila.

To the east of the city of Khan Younis in Bani Suhaila, al-Qassam fighters eliminated an Israeli infantry force consisting of eight troops, from point-blank range. In the same region, another Resistance unit shot dead an Israeli soldier after he entered a building in the area, where an al-Qassam fighter had been positioned, shooting him in the back, confirming another kill.

In Khuzaa, al-Qassam fighters detonated an anti-personnel improvised explosive device into an Israeli force positioned within a building in Khuzaa.

Fighters also engaged Israeli armored forces in the central Gaza Strip, where al-Qassam units targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with a locally produced Shawaz explosively formed penetrator (EFP), confirming that the tank was completely destroyed.

Other units who had returned from the frontlines also confirmed successful operations conducted on Friday, including a precise ambush in which an Israeli force consisting of nine soldiers was surrounded and engaged in Bani Suhaila. Members of the force were either killed or injured, as an Israeli military rescue helicopter arrived at the scene to transport the casualties.