Al-Qassam Brigades invented tactics and combat methods to confront the occupation forces (Reuters)
The Palestinian resistance factions - led by the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), used innovative combat tactics and methods with the Israeli occupation forces during the aggression against Gaza.
During the Israeli aggression, the public became familiar with the term “combat node,” which was often used by Al-Qassam spokesman Abu Ubaida. He used to say in more than one of his speeches, “There are hundreds of mujahideen in combat nodes, impatiently awaiting their jihadist role.”
Decentralized cells
Combat nodes are small decentralized cells of resistance fighters, the number of whose members range between 3 and 5 in the case of carrying out single combat operations, and the number can rise to more than 10 resistance fighters in combined military operations.
Single military action is one in which a single combat mission is carried out, such as targeting an occupation vehicle or carrying out a sniper operation, while combined military action is one in which more than one mission is carried out, and requires the presence of a larger number of resistance fighters.
Reports indicate that the Al-Qassam Brigades have developed their combat capabilities, starting to engage in combat above and below ground after training their fighters to adapt to the lack of oxygen and the decline of natural light sources, to overcome the high risks of dealing with unconventional confrontations, including the poison gas that Israel used in one of the tunnels.
Although the occupation leadership sent its military teams and elite forces into the Golani, Givati, Nahal and other brigades, it failed to confront this type of combat cells that continue to confront and clash despite the passage of 5 months since the aggression.
Al-Qa'dah may consist of two resistance fighters (Al-Qassam official website)
Advance planning
The combat nodes are formed through the resistance leadership’s prior assessment of the occupation’s offensive plans in any area of Gaza and in view of the nature of the fighting there. Thus, it is left to the resistance node to estimate its military activity there. When will it begin?
And when does it lie?
Which mechanism is it targeting?
All of this is done in a decentralized manner that does not require communication with the leadership, but according to the advance plans available to the resistance, and they are armed at each combat node according to the different mission assigned to them.
Combat nodes are prepared and plans for their operations and ambushes are prepared based on studying the threat and risks on all combat axes, through reconnaissance and surveillance operations and gathering intelligence information about the enemy’s plans, its crowds, and the positioning of its forces.
This martial art provides the resistance fighters with independence in confrontation, through which they can surprise the enemy and carry out precise ambushes in areas they believe they have controlled. At the same time, the resistance fighters are able to move towards safe places and withdraw after carrying out the mission.
The resistance developed its combat methods, carrying out specific operations behind the occupation lines, as happened in the Juhr al-Dik area, where the resistance fighters were able to lure members of the Israeli forces to the entrances to the tunnels and then blow them up.
Construction of combat nodes
The idea of the combat contract is based on forming a successful line of defense by striking the enemy's weak points and neutralizing his capabilities and strengths using the least capabilities available to the resistance.
The combat unit is formed according to the mission assigned to it, and at least in sniping cases, it consists of 2 or 3 maximum, while in missions such as artillery and targeting the occupation’s armor and crowds, it consists of 3 to 5 individuals.
In complex missions, the node has elite fighters to carry out sniping operations, storming and clashing with occupation soldiers, and targeting supplies and rescue crews. More than one node can also participate in carrying out a single operation.
This method of fighting allows the resistance fighters to act if they are cut off from their leadership for any reason. Sometimes a soldier lies in a specific location for weeks without entering into a clash under any circumstances, waiting to carry out a specific mission, which is what happened in the Al-Maghazi camp ambush, which killed more than 20 people. An officer and a soldier were killed and wounded.
It is noteworthy here that the Qassam brigades located in the northern Gaza Strip did not request support from other brigades in the Strip, despite the passage of several months since the start of the Israeli ground operation in the region.
In some combat missions, combat units from more than one resistance faction participate to carry out a joint operation against the occupation soldiers, and the resistance often announces such operations.
Supply and armament
Logistical supply units provide the quantity of weapons necessary for the combat mission in each node, with the condition that each member of the node has a personal weapon. The node is also provided with a camera to photograph the operation.
Combat nodes do not maintain large quantities of weapons, considering that their mission is clear and to preserve ammunition in the event of air or artillery targeting by the occupying army, and because the fighter needs to move and withdraw from the place easily.
After carrying out each operation, the resistance fighters lie in their nodes awaiting another operation, while the logistical arm of the resistance re-supplies them with the necessary equipment and supplies.
Photography of operations
The video clips broadcast by the resistance factions of the operations they carry out showed the importance of the presence of the photographer and camera in the combat nodes, as filming the operations contributes to raising the morale of the resistors and the resistance public, and in return has negative effects on the occupation army and its public.
Documenting resistance operations also contributes to confronting the occupation’s claims about the nature of the battles, and to confronting its policy of obfuscation to reduce its losses.
The Al-Qassam Brigades and the resistance factions in Gaza have been documenting their operations against the occupation army forces and vehicles in various combat axes since the start of the Israeli ground operation on October 27, and many details of the operations carried out against the occupation forces appeared during the video clips.
Source: Al Jazeera