| 2025 Shuja'iyya offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theIsraeli invasion of the Gaza Strip during theGaza war | |||||||
 Gaza Strip under Palestinian control Gaza Strip under Israeli control Former occupied territories regained from Israel | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel |  Hamas Palestinian Islamic Jihad | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Unknown | Per Israel: Muhammad al-‘Ajlah X[1] Haytham Sheikh Khalil X[2] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4 soldiers killed[7][5] 1 police officer killed[5] | Several militants killed[8] | ||||||
| 60+Palestinian civilians killed[9][10] | |||||||
On 4 April 2025, Israel began a ground offensive into theShuja'iyya neighborhood ofGaza City, as part of its renewed military operations in theGaza Strip following the resumption of theGaza war on18 March. It marks the third time Israel invades the neighborhood during the war, following battles in2023 and2024.
A ceasefire that halted fighting in the Gaza war between Israel andHamas 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 theNetzarim Corridor and renewed itsRafah offensive.
On 3 April,Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Brigadier GeneralEffie Defrin announced that it has begun a “new stage” designed to returnthe Israeli hostages held by Hamas and destroy the militant group's "military andgoverning capabilities.”[8]
That same day, an Israeli bombardment of Shuja'iyya killed at least 37 people.[11]
The IDF launched the ground operation in the morning with the intent of expanding the Israeli buffer zone along theGaza border, saying thatPalestinian civilians had been allowed to evacuate Shuja'iyya. The IDF also reported it destroyed a Hamascommand-and-control centre during its assault.[12][11][8]
A woman and her daughter were killed in an Israeli artillery attack targeting displaced people in the neighborhood.[13]
Israeli forces halted the flow of water from Israeli companyMekorot to the Gaza Strip, effectively cutting off 70% of Gaza's total water supply and affecting Gaza's main pipeline, located in Shuja'iyya.[13]
One Palestinian was killed following artillery shelling in the al-Salem Mosque.[13]
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) stated that itsAl-Quds Brigades fighters destroyed an Israeli military vehicle in the neighborhood.[14][15]
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.[16][17] Israel claimed to have targeted a senior Hamas militant, without providing their name.[10][17][14]
The IDF stated that Haytham Sheikh Khalil, the commander of theAl-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.[6]
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.[18]
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.[7]
Israel said it launched an airstrike on Shuja'iyya that killed the new commander of the Shuja'iyya Battalion, Muhammad al-‘Ajlah, a week after his predecessor Khalil had been killed.[19]
Clashes between the IDF and the Al-Qassam Brigades were reported in Shuja'iyya,[20][21] resulting in the killing of one IDF soldier and one Israeli police officer.[5]
A landmine explosion in Shuja'iyya resulted in injuries among an Israeli force that was combing the area.[4] According to the Al-Quds Brigades, the landmine was planted as part of an ambush that they set up in the neighborhood.[22]
