The National Resistance Front of Palestine continues to combat, resist and inflict casualties on Israeli forces in Rafah and Jabalia.
By Harsh Thakor
The genocidal carnage of the State of Israel, patronised by the imperialists, mainly U.S. imperialism, continues. On 12th May, 57 Palestine people were killed and another 82 injured in Israeli attacks. In the Gaza Strip, 35,091 Palestinians have been killed and another 78,827 injured since Oct 7.
15 Palestinians were detained in the West Bank, and already 8,725 Palestinians are under detention since the 7th October. Along with the attacks on Rafah, the occupying Zionist forces have embarked on renewed attacks in the Northern Gaza Strip, on the refugee camp of Jabalia. The refugee population there has been victims of continuous Israeli bombardments and raids with armoured vehicles.
The Israeli army has issued orders to evacuate more parts of the city of Rafah, and it has expanded the bombardment in Rafah and other Palestinian cities such as Jabalia, where Israeli tanks have penetrated after a massive bombardment. The struggle is intensifying not just near Rafah but also in the Northern Gaza Strip, even though the State of Israel stated a long time ago that the Palestinian resistance was extinguished there.
The Gaza Civilian Defense ministry reports that the hospitals in the Northern Gaza Strip are not functioning anymore. So far, two million people have been displaced from Gaza, and 80,000 of them have fled to Deir Al-Balah in Central Gaza. Also people displaced from Northern Gaza are making their way towards this direction.
Retaliatory Actions by Palestinians
The Israeli military has intensified its bombardment of Jabalia camp with at least six people reported killed and many wounded in the latest attack. The National Resistance Front of Palestine continues to combat and resist and inflict casualties on Israeli forces in Rafah and Jabalia. The fierce resistance stands out in the neighborhood of al-Zaytoun in Rafah, and in Jabalia. Israel’s military said that its troops had killed “a large number of terrorists” in Jabalia’s refugee camp, while Hamas said it had killed several soldiers. Hamas’s military wing also reported battles inside Jabalia camp and said fighters had targeted Israeli troops with anti-tank missiles and various other explosive devices. The Al-Qassam Brigades have recently released many videos of their actions against the occupying Israeli forces in Jabalia. The Israeli army has announced that Sgt. Ben Avishay, 20, from Nahariya, was killed in combat in Gaza’s north.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has regularly fired missiles across the border with Israel over the past seven months, but in the past two weeks, Hezbollah has intensified its attacks further and have attacked new Israeli military targets in response to the Israeli incursion into the city of southern Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching 40 Katyusha rockets at northern Israel. Hezbollah had carried out its deepest attack in Israel to date using explosive drones to strike at a base in Ilaniya near the city of Tiberias about 35 kilometers from the Lebanon border. The IDF confirmed that an Israeli defense site was hit in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack near the northern Israeli city of Tiberias. Hezbollah have also targeted barracks in Birkat Risha, Branit and Al-Jerdah.
The Islamic Resistance of Iraq fired a cruise missile on Saturday against the military airbase of Ramon. This action sharpened the ongoing resistance against the occupation, and was a retaliatory action against the atrocities committed by the Israeli regime against the Palestinians.
Ansar Allah (also known as “Houthies”) during the last weekend launched five drones to target ships backed by imperialism. The Yemeni based group has stated they would target any ship at their range and linked with the State of Israel. Additionally, the Yemeni people are demonstrating in support of the people of Palestine. Last Saturday, the students, academics and workers of the University of Sanaa undertook a rally in solidarity with the students in US and Europe, who are opposing the genocide perpetrated in Gaza by Israel and the imperialists.
Last week, four Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City. In a statement, the Israeli army said all four belonged to the army’s Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, adding that two others from the same battalion were seriously injured in fighting.
The number of soldiers killed since the start of the Israeli ground operation in Gaza on Oct. 27 has risen to 271, while the army’s death toll since the launch of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza on Oct. 7 has increased to 619.
Worldwide Protests
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague commenced hearings into a request from South Africa calling to halt Israel’s military operation in Rafah, part of its case accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to immediately cease its military operations in Gaza and withdraw from the Rafah crossing; immediately ensure access to aid workers, as well as journalists to collect evidence and record conditions on the ground, and to submit an open report to the court regarding these measures within a week.
The Arab League called for an international force for Gaza and the West Bank until the implementation of a two-state solution. In a summit held in Bahrain, the League called on the UN Security Council to present a timetable for promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.
In Jordan every Friday the people take to the streets to support the people of Palestine. Additionally these weeks the students are taking the streets and also the university campuses and protesting against the aggression on Rafah.
In Lille, France, the actions in solidarity with Palestine continue with strength. The students from the Student Union Federation (FSE) have collected funds for Palestine and made propaganda in support of Palestine.
Also the Palestine Lille Committee has been present in a demonstration along with other forces to demand the end of complicit involvement between the French universities and the State of Israel and to denounce the repression suffered at the University of Lille.
In Nantes, La Cause du People will hold a football tournament in support of Palestine.
In Oslo, Norway, this Sunday 12th of May, the Zionists organised a rally “against the hate towards Israel”, gathering hundreds of people and being protected by the Norwegian repressive forces. At the same time hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters assembled to demonstrate their support to Palestine. Kampkomiteen actively participated at the mobilisation.
In Berlin, Germany, on last Saturday a pro-Palestinian demonstration was held and marched from Kreuzberg until Neukölln under the slogan “Solidarity with Palestine, stop the war, no weapons for Israel”. The demonstration assembled around 1,500 protesters and the German repressive forces detained 39 people.
In the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the buildings of the university for a whole day.
In Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, several pro-Palestinian marches have been held on the last Sunday. The marches gathered thousands of demonstrators.
Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist.
Feature image: Slogans equating Israel with fascism were seen at a Palestine solidarity march in Melbourne. Picture courtesy : NCA NewsWire / Valeriu Campan