TEHRAN- The Israeli army is facing fierce resistance in northern Gaza and in particular Gaza City, despite claiming on January 8 that it would be scaling down operations from areas in the north after alleging that the command center of Hamas had been “dismantled” and its fighters “defeated”.

The regime waged war on the Gaza Strip almost 140 days ago, with the initial focus entirely on northern Gaza, where Tel Aviv said Hamas “was hiding” and ordered Palestinians to evacuate south via a dangerous and deadly route. 

Amid months of airstrikes and ground shelling in the north, the Israeli military ordered new evacuations in Gaza City on Tuesday and Wednesday as reports emerged of heavy fighting. 

For a second time during the Israeli war on the coastal enclave, the Israeli military has threatened residents to leave neighborhoods in the city or be considered a target. 

Families in the Zaytoun and Turkoman neighborhoods in southern Gaza City have been told they must leave, while airstrikes and heavy ground fighting in eastern parts of the city were reported by residents over the past two days. 

The Palestinian Resistance on Wednesday confirmed it is engaged in fierce clashes with the occupation forces, particularly in the Zaytoun neighborhood, resulting in casualties and injuries among Israeli forces. 

The Israeli military, which has been accused of downplaying its casualty figures, acknowledged one of its soldiers has been killed, and three others sustained injuries during combat in northern Gaza. 

The armed wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, announced that its fighters are engaged in intense battles with Israeli forces in the southern areas of the city. 

Al-Qassam reported that Israeli military aircraft arrived to transport its casualties. 

The al-Qassam Brigades also stated that two Israeli Merkava tanks have been bombed with Yasin 105 shells on the outskirts of Gaza City, preventing an Israeli military unit from advancing back into the city. 

The Palestinian Resistance published a video on its social media platforms showing footage of its fighters targeting an Israeli aircraft with a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile system in the skies of the city. 

Furthermore, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the al-Quds Brigades, in a joint operation with National Resistance Brigades, announced the targeting of Israeli forces in a neighborhood with rocket barrages. 

The Martyrs of al-Aqsa Brigades also reported its involvement in the fierce clashes against Israeli soldiers with machine guns and RPGs east of Gaza City. 

The al-Aqsa Brigades are also reported to have targeted an Israeli military gathering and vehicles with mortar shells and short-range missiles east of Jabalia camp, another area in the north that Tel Aviv had previously claimed to have cleared out the Palestinian forces. 

The Mujahideen Brigades targeted Israeli forces in the southeast of Gaza City with short-range rockets. 

On Wednesday, the Palestinian Resistance continued intense clashes with Israeli forces, targeting soldiers and vehicles in northern Gaza, specifically in Jabalia as well as in the southern city of Khan Younis, coinciding with an increase in joint operations among the resistance factions. 

The al-Qassam Brigades confirmed sniping two Israeli soldiers and engaging with infantry forces, resulting in casualties in a neighborhood west of Khan Younis. 

With the Palestinian Resistance targeting Israeli forces in every corner of the Gaza Strip, analysts have said the Israeli occupation now considers itself in an existential war, punishing anyone who believes that colonization should be resisted. 

Yet, Tel Aviv stands accused of genocidal practices against the entire 2.3 million population of the tiny coastal enclave after failing to achieve any of its stated goals, four and a half months after it waged war on the Gaza Strip. 

The UN World Food Program (WFP) has said that northern Gaza has now become too unsafe to deliver food aid because of Israeli attacks. More people risk starving to death as a result, the WFP said, as it announced it would pause deliveries. “The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger.” 

A report by the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, has also found that one in six children were acutely malnourished in the north of Gaza.