Operation al-Aqsa Flood: Failure Of Israeli Security InstitutionsSouth Front

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While the Israelis were spending the last day of the ‘Sukkot’ holiday, which is one of the Jewish festivals; they faced the surprise operation by the Palestinian resistance. Residents of the areas near the Gaza Strip and those who had gone there on vacation suddenly found themselves in a nightmarish situation on the morning of October 7.

On October 7, Palestinian forces launched a massive offensive against Israel from the Gaza Strip. The clashes started with massive rocket attacks by Palestinians against Israeli settlements and ground attacks on several settlements, installations and Israeli military bases. Palestinians passed the barrier of the security guards of the Gaza Strip and entered the settlements and military facilities in the occupied territories.

A few hours after the attack, Mohammed Deif, the commander-in-chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced the start of a new operation against Israel, codenamed ‘Storm Al-Aqsa’. Mohammed Deif called the Palestinian people to a nationwide uprising against Israel and announced that the great uprising has begun to end the occupation.

Zaif said: We call on our brothers in Islamic resistance movements in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen to support the resistance in Palestine.We urge the Islamic and Arab nations to move towards the borders of Palestine.

This attack is the first direct conflict inside the occupied Palestinian territories since the Arab-Israeli war in 1948. Some observers refer to these events as the beginning of the third Palestinian Intifada.

On the first day of the war, which was accompanied by the element of surprise, the Palestinian forces managed to penetrate to a depth of 20 kilometers in the areas controlled by Israel. Cities such as Ofakim and Mishmar HaNegev are among the farthest cities from the Gaza Strip that witnessed the presence of Palestinian forces and fighting with Israeli forces. Palestinian forces were able to take control of the Karam Abu Salem crossing, which is the only active crossing of the Gaza Strip. The settlements of Mefalsim, Kfar Aza, Nahal Oz, Sa’ad, Alumim, Be’eri, Shokeda, Kisssufim, Nirim, Magen, Re’im and the important base of Re’im as well as the Zikim base were captured by Palestinian forces. Also, Palestinians entered the important cities of Sderot, Netivot and even Ashkelon.

The scale of attacks and the Israeli casualties were so surprising that the Israeli army almost completely withdrew from the areas around Gaza on the first day of the fighting to prevent an increase in casualties.

One of the interesting points of the first day of the war was the withdrawal of Israeli fighter jets from Hatzerim Air Base. A video was published on social media that showed that the Israeli army moved some of its fighter jets out of the Hatzirim Air Base to an unspecified location due to the approach of the Palestinian forces to this base.

On the second day of the war, however, the Israeli army, which had now come out of surprise, sent armored equipment and troops to the southern regions and carried out a series of counter-attacks against the Palestinian forces. During the battles of the second day, the Israeli army succeeded to a large extent to deal with the guerrilla attacks of the resistance forces that penetrated to a depth of 20 kilometers in the territories controlled by Israel and pushed them back.

Hence the fighting subsided in towns like Netivot, Ofakim and Mishmar HaNegev. The Israeli army succeeded in recapturing Re’im base, Re’mm town, Shokeda, Tkuma, Sa’ad, Alumim. But the clashes continue in the important city of Sderot and towns such as Mefalsim, Kfar Aza, Nahal Oz, Be’eri, Kissufim and along the other front lines. The amount of Israeli casualties is also estimated to be high.

According to the available information, more than 1000 Israelis have been killed and more than 2500 people have been wounded. Of this number, it is not clear exactly how many are military and how many are civilians; But it is clear that the Israeli army has suffered heavy losses. According to some local sources, at least 2 Israeli generals, 5 colonels, a lieutenant colonel and a major have been killed.

Accurate information on the number of people captured by the Palestinians is not available, but it is said that at least 200 Israelis have been captured in recent days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Sunday that Israel’s Security Cabinet has officially approved the start of the war against the Gaza Strip. This is the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973 that Israel has officially declared war.

With the approval of the state of war, Article 40 of the Israeli Constitution was activated. In such a case, the Israeli army has full freedom of action to carry out extensive military actions and use all the power of its air, land and sea forces in any place and can act independently at its discretion.

Israel’s operation, which started in response to Palestinian attacks, was named “Iron Swords”.

With regard to Netanyahu’s sharp statements and the objectives of the Al-Aqsa storm operation, which was mentioned by the commander of the Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif; the war in Palestine is unlikely to end anytime soon. Therefore, the process of preparing the Israeli army for a military response to the Palestinian resistance operation may take several days. The reason for this is clear: Israel was surprised and was not prepared for a conflict at this level. Therefore, the commanders of the Israeli air and ground forces are planning their operations against the Gaza Strip. This operation will definitely be accompanied by the large presence of fighter jets, drones and attack helicopters, as well as armored equipment from tanks and armored vehicles, etc.

In this situation, it should be seen what measures the resistance forces have prepared to deal with possible Israeli operations. Is there another surprise like the entry of Hezbollah and the Syrian resistance forces into the Palestinian war? Will the next surprise happen in the West Bank and the West Bank Palestinians will start a new military operation against Israel? Or the battle in the the Gaza Strip will finally subside with the mediation of the Arab countries to a ceasefire?

Yesterday and today, Hezbollah attacked a number of Israeli military posts on the Lebanon-Palestine border using artillery fire and anti-armor guided missiles. On the other hand, Israeli aircraft also attacked a number of positions of Hezbollah near the borders. So far, Hezbollah has not made any ground advance, but if the tensions escalate, there is a possibility of Hezbollah entering the war. An issue that can change the balance of the battle in Israel’s current chaotic situation in favor of the Palestinians and the axis of resistance.

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In the midst of these developments, the US command in the region (CENTCOM) released a statement and announced that the US military will move a number of its warships and aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and threatened that “USCENTCOM stands firmly with Israeli and regional partners to address the risks of any party seeking to expand the conflict.”

This US move is clearly a message to the countries that are friends with Palestine and a proactive move to prevent Israel’s situation from getting worse. Obviously, any start of war and the opening of a new battle front against Israel can eventually lead to the complete collapse of the Israeli army.

On the other hand, Iraqi resistance groups in solidarity with Palestine also warned Israel. In a message, the Secretary General of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Nujaba, while inviting the nation of Iraq to participate in the million march in support of Palestine, warned the governments supporting Israel that if they seek to expand the scope of the war, they will face the epic of resistance. The Iraqi Kataeb Seyyed al-Shohda resistance group also issued a statement and warned United States and Israel in the event of direct American intervention in the Gaza war, all American positions in the region will become legitimate targets of the resistance axis, and at that time there will be no red line left.

It should be noted that the Palestinian attacks on Israel around Gaza began after months of bloody conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, including clashes in Jenin and al-Aqsa Mosque that killed approximately 250 Palestinians and 32 Israelis. What is more important than the operational and military victory of the Palestinian resistance is the intelligence failure of Israel’s security institutions.

While the commanders of the Palestinian resistance had been planning and preparing the forces for operations for a long time, the Israeli intelligence agencies remained oblivious to these plans and movements and despite the Israeli media’s claim of 24-hour surveillance of resistance commanders and 100% intelligence control over Palestinian groups, Israeli military institutions failed to counter these attacks.

One of the main reasons for the success of combined Palestinian attacks against Israel has been the perfect performance of the security and protection duties of the Palestinian resistance. Of course, transferring the experiences of the previous battle, i.e. the battle of “Thar al-Ahrar” to the battle of “Al-Aqsa Storm” also shows the improvement of strategic cooperation between Hamas and Islamic Jihad in this field.