Urban Combat in Shujayea Poses Challenges for Israeli Forces: Monitors

Hamas’s battle tactics and the complex urban environment in the Shujayea neighborhood of Gaza City are significantly challenging Israeli forces, who have been conducting a ground incursion in the area for over a week, according to reports from war monitors.

US-based defense think tanks, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP), have noted that Israeli troops have repeatedly had to clear the same buildings of Palestinian fighters in Shujayea. Hamas and fighters with Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been executing complex attacks on Israeli forces, including firing a “thermobaric rocket” at Israelis who had barricaded themselves in a building and detonating an improvised explosive device as the Israeli unit withdrew.

Additionally, Israeli forces positioned on the Netzarim Corridor, south of Gaza City, faced rocket and mortar fire from Hamas and fighters with the Popular Resistance Committee on Friday. In Rafah, located in the southern part of Gaza, Hamas and other armed groups reported carrying out multiple attacks, including a coordinated raid on an Israeli outpost in the Tal as-Sultan area, which resulted in heavy casualties among Israeli troops.