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Deutsch2025 Shuja'iyya offensive
| 2025 Shuja'iyya offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel |  Hamas Palestinian Islamic Jihad | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3 soldiers killed[2] 1 Merkava damaged[3] | Several fighters killed[4] | ||||||
| 60+ Palestinian civilians killed[5][6] | |||||||
On 4 April 2025, Israel began a ground offensive into the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, as part of its renewed military operations in the Gaza Strip following the resumption of the Gaza war on 18 March. It marks the third time Israel invades the neighborhood during the war, following battles in 2023 and 2024.
Background
[edit]A ceasefire that halted fighting in the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas was implemented on 19 January 2025, but collapsed on 18 March after an Israeli surprise attack on the Gaza Strip. Following the war's resumption, Israel partially retook the Netzarim Corridor and renewed its Rafah offensive.
On 3 April, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin announced that it has begun a “new stage” designed to return the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and destroy the militant group's "military and governing capabilities.”[4]
That same day, an Israeli bombardment of Shuja'iyya killed at least 37 people.[7]
Timeline
[edit]4 April
[edit]The IDF launched the ground operation in the morning with the intent of expanding the Israeli buffer zone along the Gaza border, saying that Palestinian civilians had been allowed to evacuate Shuja'iyya. The IDF also reported it destroyed a Hamas command-and-control centre during its assault.[8][7][4]
A woman and her daughter were killed in an Israeli artillery attack targeting displaced people in the neighborhood.[9]
5 April
[edit]Israeli forces halted the flow of water from Israeli company Mekorot to the Gaza Strip, effectively cutting off 70% of Gaza's total water supply and affecting Gaza's main pipeline, located in Shuja'iyya.[9]
One Palestinian was killed following artillery shelling in the al-Salem Mosque.[9]
6 April
[edit]Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) stated that its Al-Quds Brigades fighters destroyed an Israeli military vehicle in the neighborhood.[3][10]
9 April
[edit]Israel struck a residential building in Shuja'iyya with multiple bombs. Additionally, eight houses around the building were destroyed by the bombardment, killing at least 35 Palestinians, injuring over 70, and leaving over 20 missing.[11][12] Israel claimed to have targeted a senior Hamas militant, without providing their name.[6][12][3]
10 April
[edit]The IDF stated that Haytham Sheikh Khalil, the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades' Shuja'iyya Battalion, was the militant killed in the previous day's airstrike, and claimed that the residential building was in reality a command-and-control centre.[1]
12 April
[edit]Palestinians in Shuja'iyya were reported to be "trapped", with Israeli tanks surrounding the neighborhood. Sources from the ground also reported that the IDF was shooting whoever was moving or trying to move from one place to another.[13]
Al-Qassam Brigades militants ambushed Israeli soldiers in Shuja'iyya, resulting in two casualties and several injuries, while the Al-Quds Brigades announced their killing of an Israeli sniper atop Al-Muntar hill, which overlooks the neighborhood.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Staff, J. N. S. (10 April 2025). "IDF eliminates senior Hamas commander in Gaza". JNS.org. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Two Israeli soldiers killed in Shuja'iyya ambush". Al Bawaba. 14 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "الاحتلال يستأنف حرب غزة | عشرات الشهداء و"القسام" تقصف أسدود". Al Araby. 6 April 2025.
- ^ a b c Fabian, Emanuel (4 April 2025). "IDF widens ground operation in northern Gaza, kills senior Hamas official in Lebanon". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ "Israeli military expands ground offensive in north Gaza, closes in on Shujaiya". The New Arab. 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Israeli strike on Gaza residential building kills 29, medics say". BBC. 9 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Israel announces expanding ground operation in north Gaza". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ "IDF conducts ground activity in Gaza to expand security zone, kills terrorists". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "Updates: More than 30 people killed by Israel as Gaza supplies run out". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
- ^ "مجزرة بحي التفاح في غزة والاحتلال يتوغل بحي الشجاعية لليوم الثالث". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ Yee, Vivian; Harouda, Ameera; Alghorra, Saher (9 April 2025). "Israeli Airstrike in Gaza City Leaves Many Dead, Health Officials There Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ a b "At least 35 killed in Israeli attack on Gaza residential block". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ "'A tool of genocide': Israel targets Gaza drinking water facilities". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 12 April 2025.