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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continue to face fierce resistance from Palestinian armed factions as it attempts to advance in the Gaza Strip.
On February 13, the al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, released a video showing its fighters blowing up armored personnel carriers of the IDF with rocket-propelled grenades and shelling a gathering of Israeli troops with mortars to the west of Gaza City in northern Gaza.
And on February 14, the military wing of the Hamas Movement, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, shared footage of its fighters planting explosive devices, clashing with Israeli troops from point blank and attacking IDF vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades in the city of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Strip.
The IDF has lost 232 troops since the start of ground operations in Gaza. More than 1,300 others have been reportedly wounded.
Around two months ago, the IDF withdrew from vast parts of northern Gaza. Now, it has reportedly begun to pull out troops from some areas in the south.
Palestinian media reported on February 15 that Israeli troops had completely withdrawn from the town of Abasan al-Kabira near Khan Younis. There were also rumors of other withdrawals by the IDF near the southern Gaza City.
Despite the recent drawbacks by the IDF, the Israeli command is in fact preparing to escalate operations in Gaza by attacking the southernmost area of Rafah on the border with Gaza. More than a million Palestinians are said to be taking refuge there.
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