By Farrukh Abadi
On Saturday, Israeli forces killed over 80 Palestinians across Gaza as the IDF’s ground invasion of Rafah continues. 900,000 Palestinians have been forced to evacuate southern Rafah while more evacuation orders have been issued in northern Gaza.
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades, said in a video on Friday that Palestinians will continue to resist Israel’s genocide “no matter how long the aggression lasts and regardless of its form.”
“Despite our full commitment to cease the aggression against our people, we are prepared for a long war of attrition against the enemy, dragging them into a quagmire where they find nothing but death for their soldiers and the capture of their officers, not because we are a great force but because we are the people of this land and the rightful owners,” Obeida said.
The video noted that Al-Qassam Brigades have targeted 100 Israeli military vehicles over the previous 10 days and dealt the IDF a number of blows. Two operations on Saturday saw 20 Israeli soldiers liquidated, while on May 12 the IDF admitted to suffering 50 casualties across three fronts in Gaza in a single day—the largest number wounded in a day since the start of the war.
In northern Israel, Hezbollah claimed “12 successful attacks” on Israeli military positions, while in the Red Sea Ansar Allah struck a Greek-owned oil tanker with an anti-ship ballistic missile. Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, also targeted a US warship and downed an American drone. On May 15, Iraqi Islamic Resistance Forces attacked an oil refinery plant and the Eliat port in Israel.
Meanwhile, Israeli police have been cracking down on Israeli protesters as tens of thousands marched through major streets in Tel Aviv demanding Netanyahu resign and the government negotiate with Hamas to release the Israeli prisoners of war.
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has threatened to withdraw his party’s support for Netanyahu by June 8 if the government does not come up with a post-invasion plan. Gantz has proposed a 6-point plan aligned more directly with the interests of US imperialism, including international administration of Gaza by the US and others and normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia, in line with the US’s Abraham Accords.
Photo: Al-Qassam Brigades targeting Israeli vehicles and soldiers. (Hamas Official Telegram)
