By Wesam Bahrani

Palestinians in fierce clashes with Israeli invaders

May 21, 2024 - 23:2
Yemen and resistance forces in Lebanon and Iraq wage operations against Israel in solidarity with Gaza

TEHRAN- The Palestinian resistance forces have engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the Gaza Strip, as other fronts show no sign of easing down.

Palestinian factions in Gaza have engaged the IOF in what has been described by local reports on the ground as heavy battles east of Deir al-Balah in the central regions of the enclave while operations continue against an Israeli infantry force in Jabalia in the northern part of the Strip.

The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, announced it is confronting an Israeli infantry force accompanied by an armored personnel carrier near a mosque in the Jabalia refugee camp, confirming casualties among the Israeli forces.

The media office of the al-Quds Brigades also published footage from an Israeli "quadcopter" drone that was captured while carrying out reconnaissance missions in the skies of Gaza City, showing the al-Quds Brigades firing a missile towards it in retaliation.

Another Palestinian faction in Gaza, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades confirmed targeting an assembly of occupation vehicles and soldiers east of Jabalia refugee camp with mortar shells.

While the resistance continues its qualitative operations, documented through footage showing Israeli soldiers being injured, the IOF has been forced to acknowledge the extent of some losses within its ranks.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has announced it has targeted the Israeli city of Eilat (Umm al-Rashrash), using drones as reaffirming its commitment to targeting enemy strongholds.

In concise statements, the Iraqi resistance claimed responsibility for targeting Israeli vital targets in Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) with two separate drone operations carried out on Monday.

On Tuesday evening, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq issued a statement that said an Israeli drone base has been targeted in the occupied Golan Heights with drones. The statement added that the operation resulted in a “direct hit’’  

The Iraqi resistance group emphasized that these operations are part of its ongoing operations against the Israeli occupation, in support of the people of Gaza, and in response to the massacres committed by the “occupying entity against innocent Palestinian civilians, including children, women, and the elderly”.

Israeli media outlets acknowledged the detection of "aircraft bodies off the coast of Eilat," as confirmed by the Israeli army radio, in addition to detecting drones over the occupied Golan Heights, claiming that the Israeli Air Force "intercepted hostile targets launched from Iraq and Syria."

In recent days, Iraqi factions have targeted Eilat multiple times using drones, prompting the Israeli army to repeatedly confirm its detection of "drones coming from the east and south."

This comes as Lebanon’s Hezbollah announced that its fighters targeted the Israeli Galilee site with rocket weapons and directly hit it.

In separate statements, the Lebanese resistance movement confirmed it had targeted the Israeli Metula and Marj sites with suitable weapons. It also targeted the Ramia military site, achieving a direct hit.

Hezbollah also declared hitting the Malikiyah military site, causing the Israeli soldiers to flee the base, with artillery shells and achieving direct hits. The resistance in Lebanon also targeted a gathering place for officers in an Israeli army center at the eastern entrance of Ghajar village, causing direct hits and casualties among them, confirming the sight of the evacuation of the wounded from the scene.

The resistance movement has also mourned three of its members who fell in the exchange of fire with the Israeli military. 

The resistance group had earlier confirmed targeting the headquarters of the 91st Brigade of the occupation army at the Branit barracks with a heavy "Volcano" missile, indicating that the operation resulted in the injury of a number of Israeli soldiers and the destruction of part of the barracks, igniting fires within it.

It pointed out that the operation came in response to Israeli attacks on “steadfast southern Lebanese villages and safe homes, especially the attack on the town of Naqoura, in support of Gaza and its resistance”.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced on Tuesday the downing of an American MQ9 aircraft in the airspace of al-Bayda province “while it was carrying out hostile missions.” Saree said it was carried out “in solidarity with the Palestinian people's plight and in response to the American-British aggression against Yemen.”

Saree added in a statement that the Yemeni air defense forces "shot down the American aircraft by targeting it with a domestically manufactured surface-to-air missile, and the footage of the downing will be released later."

He explained that "the aircraft was shot down just days after another of the same type was downed in Marib," pointing out that the Yemeni Armed Forces "succeeded in downing 5 MQ9 aircraft during the Promised Victory and Holy Jihad battle."

Saree also emphasized in conclusion that the Yemeni Armed Forces "continue to develop their defensive capabilities to confront the American-British aggression on Yemen and to continue their military operations in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people until the lifting of the blockade and the cessation of aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza."

Saree had reported on Friday the downing of an American MQ-9 aircraft by the Yemeni air defenses in the airspace of Marib, northeast of Yemen, affirming the full readiness of the Yemeni Armed Forces at all levels, on land, sea, and air. He added, "All enemy attempts will fail."

This comes in the context of the fourth stage of escalation against the Israeli occupation regime initiated by Yemen’s Ansarullah a short while ago, in which it was confirmed that there would be major operations by the Yemeni Armed Forces.