Theinsurgency in the northern Gaza Strip was a series of armed engagements centered in theNorth Gaza Governorate, beginning afterIsrael announced it had dismantled 12Al-Qassam Brigades battalions on 7 January 2024, as part of theGaza war.[15][16][17]
SeveralPalestinian militant groups, led byHamas, began resurging in territories formerly cleared by theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF), after 4 months ofbombardment and 3 months ofground invasion.
Palestinian brigades organised and consolidated areas that Israeli forces had withdrawn from, and rehabilitated civilian services such as police forces.[18]
The brigades launched offensives on areas in the northernGaza Strip held by Israeli forces. As a result, Israeli troops moved into areas that they have previously withdrawn from.[19]ANamer APC repositioning inSheikh Radwan on 19 January was ambushed by a militant with a dual attack, first by aShawadh IED detonation succeeded by aYasin-105 rocket-propelled grenade fired by a Al-Qassam Brigade militants.[20]
On 13 May 2024, fighting was reported inJabalia refugee camp. The armed wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed that their militants are targeting nearby IDF forces with mortars, anti-tank missiles, and machine guns.[21]
According to the BBC, unnamed senior Israeli military figures told Israeli media that Hamas's resurgence in northern Gaza was due to a lack of a specific plan from Israel's government for the "day after" the war.[21] In January 2024,Channel 13 News said that IDF Chief of StaffHerzi Halevi warned Israeli leadership in private that their military gains could be eroded without a plan for the post-war management in Gaza.[22]
In late February, Israeli forces targeted theZeitoun district in southwesternGaza City with two brigades, announcing they were attacking paramilitaries in close quarters combat and with missile strikes.
The Israeli army acknowledged stiff resistance from paramilitaries in Zeitoun but not while Israeli vehicles advanced on the district, admitting casualties in three different engagements on penetrating forces on February 21. Fighting was mainly led by the Al-Qassam andAl-Quds Brigades, with minor support from smaller paramilitary groups.[23]
On 17 March 2024, Israeli forces raidedRimal and occupiedAl-Shifa hospital following supposed intel that senior Hamas officials had regrouped and were using the hospital "to command attacks".[24] Two patients on life support at the intensive care unit in the same building had died because the electricity supply was cut ahead of the raid.[24]
On May 9, Israel renewed operations in North Gaza, sending a force into the Zeitoun district which had faced a major battle months prior. The IDF has admitted that 4 soldiers were killed on the first day.[25]
On 12 May 2024, the IDF said that it launched an operation in Jabalia the previous evening "based on intelligence information regarding attempts by Hamas to reassemble its terrorist infrastructure and operatives in the area". According to residents fleeing the area, tanks were seen advancing towards the refugee camp, which was heavily bombarded.[21]
In Beit Hanoun, the IDF conducted bombings on the night of 11–12 November 2024 and targeted fleeing civilians with drones and sniper fire the next day.[26] The IDF besieged some 130 families in a shelter in the city and forced them to leave at gunpoint.[27]
Despite claiming to have “dismantled Hamas” in Beit Hanoun, Israeli forces who entered the abandoned city on 23 December were immediately ambushed by militants. The IDF acknowledged and incident where a combat vehicle in Beit Hanoun was targeted by anti-tank weapons, eliminating three soldiers.[28]
On 28 December, Israeli forces previouslyin Rafah were redeployed to begin operating in Beit Hanoun.[29][30] In another ambush whose details the IDF did not publicise, it acknowledged that three soldiers in Beit Hanoun were wounded and a West Bank settler in the IDF was eliminated.[31]
On 4 January 2025, the IDF destroyed a major Hamas complex in Beit Hanoun.[32]
An IDF company commander and his deputy were killed in Beit Hanoun after Hamas militants fired an anti-tank missile at their vehicle on 6 January, and a further three Israeli soldiers were killed when Hamas detonated an IED under their vehicle and three more were seriously wounded on the 8th.[33]
On 11 January, an Israeli patrol fell into an ambush in Beit Hanoun. A Merkava was hit by an IED explosion, killing all four of its occupants. The remaining soldiers were then attacked by Hamas militants who opened fire on them before withdrawing, wounding a further six.[34]
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on 19 January 2025, with the IDF withdrawing from theNorth Gaza Governorate to a buffer zone along theGaza Strip–Israel border on that same day.[35]
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