Watch: Al-Qassam prisoner capture attempt as resistance raises the stakes in Gaza
No amount of genocidal carnage, ethnic cleansing fantasies, Western backing or battlefield strategy can offer Israel a path out of Gaza without a permanent ceasefire.
In a series of messages after a deadly ambush in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, Al-Qassam spokesman Abu Obeida made a telling remark, “And if it [Israel] recently succeeded in miraculously freeing its soldiers from hell, it may fail to do so later, and additional prisoners will fall into our hands.”
His words proved almost prophetic.
Just days later, in another deadly operation, this time in Khan Yunis, Al-Qassam fighters nearly managed to capture an Israeli terrorist. Unable to take him as a prisoner of war, the fighters killed him.
On the evening of Wednesday (July 9), Al-Qassam published the following field report:
Al-Qassam fighters this morning raided a gathering of enemy soldiers and vehicles in the Abasan Al-Kabira area, east of Khan Yunis city in the south of the Gaza Strip. They targeted a Merkava tank and two Zionist personnel carriers using Al-Yassin 105 shells. Al-Qassam fighters also struck two military excavators with Al-Yassin 105 shells.
After that, our fighters advanced towards the enemy soldiers, engaged them with light weapons, and attempted to capture one of them. However, field conditions did not permit this, so they eliminated him and seized his weapon. Our fighters observed the landing of helicopter aircraft for evacuation. [Emphasis added.]
Zionist media later revealed further details of the incident. “Master Sergeant (Res.) Abraham Azulay, 25, from Yitzhar, was killed by terrorist fire [read: Palestinian resistance fire] in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, after they emerged from a tunnel and tried to kidnap him,” Haaretz reported, citing the occupation forces. “The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that the soldier fought at least two terrorists [read: resistance fighters] who tried to abduct him and they shot him to death. Afterward, according to the army, security forces in the area opened fire on the terrorists [read: resistance fighters], hitting several of them and thwarting the abduction of Azulay’s body.”
Here’s an interesting bit in the Haaretz story: “The army is now investigating the circumstances of the shooting, as no weapons were found on the terrorists [read: resistance fighters] who were killed.”
Isn’t it strange that the Palestinian fighters entered the enemy gathering completely unarmed? How were they supposed to take captives without anything to threaten them? The contradiction is glaring. Moreover, in the same story, the military itself said, “They [resistance fighters] shot him to death.” So how could unarmed fighters have executed a killing? The perpetually lying Israeli military isn’t able to keep its story straight. All Israeli narratives collapse under basic scrutiny. Most likely, the occupation forces killed some unarmed Palestinian civilians and framed them as resistance fighters — a pattern seen throughout the ongoing assault on Gaza. The Israelis routinely count every adult male they kill in Gaza as a Hamas fighter.
On Thursday evening (10 July), Al-Qassam released footage of the capture attempt — clearly exposing the extent of Israeli lies:
Azulay, the dead Israeli, operated excavation machinery in the Gaza Strip. His role was to demolish abandoned Palestinian homes — and that’s exactly what he was doing when Qassam fighters got him. Poetic justice, if there ever was one. Rather than confronting the fighters, who wore trainers, T-shirts, and sandals — not the advanced military gear and weapons he carried — Azulay tried to run to safety.
But he ran out of luck.
(The cartoonish Israeli minister Ben-Gvir was left fuming over Azulay’s death. “As negotiations for reckless deals intensify, so does the motivation of Hamas terrorists to carry out more abductions — and last night, this cost us the life of an IDF soldier, who was killed during an attempted abduction,” Ben-Gvir wrote on Twitter.)
Viewed in the context of this operation, it is clear Abu Obeida’s remarks were deliberate, not rhetorical. The attempt to capture Israelis soon after his comment only strengthens the belief that the resistance has raised the stakes and is seeking to secure more prisoners of war. In recent weeks, the capture of prisoners has emerged as a tactical priority. (In another operation last month, fighters pursued a Zionist tank on foot and attempted to open its hatch — presumably to take captives.)
A Qassam leader further affirmed the capture tactic. “The capture operation today in Khan Yunis was not destined to succeed, but success will be our ally in future operations,” an unnamed leader in Al-Qassam Brigades told Al Jazeera. “Our fighters in combat knots and ambushes lie in wait for enemy soldiers and vehicles, prepared to inflict a great slaughter upon them. Our fighters, through their recent operations, have shattered the alleged prestige of the occupation army and rubbed its soldiers’ noses in the mud of Gaza.”
These remarks reflect a confidence grounded in recent battlefield outcomes. Indeed, the resistance has inflicted heavy losses on the Israelis over the past several weeks. Resistance fighters have conducted a string of ambushes with devastating effect. In one of the most dramatic operations last month, they dropped an explosive into a troop carrier, killing all seven Israelis on board. Another operation left behind “charred corpses,” followed by a series of precise explosive-planting strikes that further rattled enemy lines. The most damaging operation for the Israelis, however, came just this week, when resistance fighters carried out a series of ambushes in Beit Hanoun, resulting in numerous casualties. Israeli authorities issued a gag order on the incident, making it impossible to obtain the true casualty figures, which many suggest are in the dozens.
Despite the media blackout, some footage eventually emerged. The Hebrew press published brief footage of the Beit Hanoun ambush, painting a picture of heavy Israeli losses — with dead and wounded terrorists being dragged away, and others crawling on their bellies to escape the line of incoming resistance fire:
Such spectacular successes — the result of intensive monitoring of Israeli terrorists inside Gaza, careful planning, and immaculate execution — would not be possible without top-tier intelligence gathering and its devastating use.
The Israelis have been repeatedly outmanoeuvred by the resistance’s intelligence capabilities and the seamless execution of its complex operations. “Security sources warn that despite the pressure on Hamas commander in the Gaza Strip, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the military wing is managing to gather accurate intelligence on IDF forces in the various fighting centres,” Hebrew outlet Walla reported on July 10. “The terrorist organisation [read: Hamas] uses this intelligence to carry out well-organised attacks through sniper fire, launching anti-tank missiles, and activating explosive devices at various ranges and in various formations — including firing small arms and launching mortar bombs.”
Al-Qassam has lost nearly its entire top leadership inside the Gaza Strip, including legendary figures Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, through the course of the ongoing genocide, but its operational capabilities have only sharpened. Resistance operations have improved both qualitatively and quantitatively as the genocidal assault on Gaza has dragged on. According to Walla, the resistance has replaced its leadership seamlessly and new commanders are carrying out operations without missing a beat: “Security sources estimate that Hamas has managed to appoint new field commanders and is managing guerrilla operations through a series of orders passed from leadership in Gaza City and the central camps to the other fighting centres.”
Leadership roles in Hamas and Al-Qassam don’t come with the luxury of retirement. They come with a near-certain guarantee of martyrdom. As a result, Palestinian resistance has developed a deep-rooted resilience regarding leadership succession. Resistance in Gaza has demonstrated the futility of Israeli assassination campaigns. They bring no strategic benefit when the next fighter in line is just as willing to carry the torch — and just as capable — as the leader he replaces. If the elimination of leadership worked, fighters carrying the banner of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades wouldn’t still be killing Israelis by the dozens, ninety years after the martyrdom of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam.
No amount of genocidal carnage, ethnic cleansing fantasies, Western backing or battlefield strategy can offer Israel a path out of Gaza without a permanent ceasefire. Resistance has made that inevitability clear.
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I have never considered Hamas resistance as terrorists but as the right to fight back armed guard of Palestine. On the other hand I have always considered Israel as a terrorist state with no right to defend itself from the occupied people whose job is to look after the people of the country they are occupying, they are, therefore, in the wrong always, and the resistance of the occupied state are legally and morally in the right.
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