| Battle of Beit Hanoun | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theIsraeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and theinsurgency in the North Gaza Strip during theGaza war | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
 60+ soldiers killed or wounded[9] 1Namer APC destroyed4 Merkava tanks[10] |  Unknown | ||||||
Thebattle of Beit Hanoun began on 27 October 2023 in the midst of the2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.[11][12] On 18 December 2023, Israeli forces had prematurely signalled that they had full control over Beit Hanoun and had destroyed Hamas’ Beit Hanoun Battalion.[13][3] However, clashes continued in the town. Israeli forces withdrew from the town on the 24th of December. Subsequently, some Palestinian militants infiltrated back into the town and conducted attacks against Israeli forces to the east.[14][15]
On 27 October,Hamas stated that itsmilitary wing was confronting theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, with "violent engagements" taking place.[16] Pro-Palestinian sources stated that the IDF had carried out "a very limited incursion" into the outskirts ofBeit Hanoun overnight.[17] On the same day, Hamas said that they had "foiled an Israeli ground incursion into Beit Hanoun."[18]
On 31 October, Israeli forces claimed to have advanced into the outskirts of Beit Hanoun to conduct clearing operations, in an attempt tobesiege Gaza City.[19]
On 1 November, Hamas said it had destroyed several Israeli tanks and armored vehicles, including at least four IsraeliMerkava tanks usingYasin 105 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades in Beit Hanoun.[20] The Al-Qassam Brigades also claimed to have bombed a gathering of IDF soldiers near Beit Hanoun using aquadcopter drone.[21] On the following day, pro-Palestinian sources reported that Israeli forces were advancing from the east and south as part of an effort to encircle and advance into Beit Hanoun.[22]
On 4 November, the IDF continued its advance in Beit Hanoun. Clashes occurred onal-Karameh street, the city's main north–south street. The al-Qassam Brigades published footage of its militants maneuvering throughtunnel systems in Beit Hanoun and attacking Israeli forces with various weapons.[23]
On 11 November, the IDF announced that four Israeli soldiers were killed in abooby-trapped tunnel in Beit Hanoun, while another was killed in battles in the north.[24] The IDF claimed to have advanced beyond the city on or before 12 November, and it released a video showing the IDFHarel Brigade operating south of Beit Hanoun. Hamas fighters are continuing to attack the IDF in Beit Hanoun beyond the IDF's forward line of advance. The Al-Qassam Brigades said that it detonated ananti-personnelimprovised explosive device (IED) targeting IDF forces sheltering in a house in Beit Hanoun.[12]
On 9 November, the destruction had become so extensive and severe that Beit Hanoun was described as “not only dead, but no longer existing”.[25]
On 15 November, Hamas announced that, it destroyed four Israeli vehicles withYasin 105 rocket-propelled grenades in Beit Hanoun.[26]
On 18 December 2023, the IDF claimed to have taken full control over Beit Hanoun and destroyed Hamas’ Beit Hanoun Battalion.[13][3]
By 20 December, Israel shifted to holding operations within the area, while Hamas continued to launch attacks on Israeli forces withsmall arms, includingdrive-by attacks.[27]
On 24 December, Israeli forces withdrew from Beit Hanoun amidst heavy fighting withPalestinian militant groups. Returning civilians to the town's ruins reported that no vehicles were in sight. Israeli forces continue to shell the city.[28]
Former residents of Beit Hanoun returned to the remains of the town after Israeli forces had withdrawn from it. The destruction had encompassed the entire city, and residents said that “all structures were destroyed”, and described most of Beit Hanoun as being “razed to the ground”.[29]
On 26 December, Hamas attacked Israeli forces carrying out holding operations with an improvised explosive device.[30]
On 15 January 2024, theAl Quds Brigades fired a rocket salvo from Beit Hanoun toward southern Israel, as Palestinian militants began infiltrating areas which had been previously cleared by the IDF in Northern Gaza.[31]
On 9 March, IDF Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yuhda Battalion (143rd Division) operated in Beit Hanoun targeting Palestinian fighters that had returned since IDF's previous withdrawal.[32]
On 4 April, IDF 7643rd Gefen Brigade (Gaza Division) and Netzah Yehuda Battalion (900th Kfir Brigade, 99th Reserve Division) continued re-clearing of Beit Hanoun and announced the death of a Hamas company commander.[33]
On 31 May, the IDF withdrew from Beit Hanoun and all areas in northern Gaza following the end of theBattle of Jabalia.[34]
On 8 July 2025, the Israeli military had surrounded the Beit Hanoun area "from all directions," with forces of theNetzah Yehuda Battalion and the646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade, and was attempting to exert full control over the area that they had failed to capture during prior clashes in the city. This followed an Hamas attack on IDF forces on 7 July where five IDF soldiers were killed and 14 were wounded.[35][36][37]
By December 2023, Israeli media had reported that secured operational control over Beit Hanoun. However, this view was challenged by analysts such as Salih Adai and Sally Hussain at the University of Babylon who argued that these statements by Israeli media were contradicted by continuous militant activity and operational control in Beit Hanoun well into 2024.[38]
The deadly July 7 attack on Israeli forces marked the 639th day since the war's inception on October 7, 2023. This operation unequivocally signaled Israel's failure, not only to occupy the town definitively, but also to truly conquer any part of Gaza. Beit Hanoun is, in essence, a microcosm of Gaza's undefeated, and arguably undefeatable, nature.
