Abu Obeida Says Resistance Will Defend Gaza City, Vows to Capture More Soldiers

August 30, 2025 News
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas. (Photo: via Al-Mayadeen, file)

Abu Obeida warned that Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza City under “Operation Gideon 2” will lead to major losses, as the resistance remains on high alert and vows to fight with determination while holding prisoners in combat zones.

Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, declared that the Palestinian resistance is fully prepared to confront Israel’s announced plans to occupy Gaza City.

He warned that such an operation would have catastrophic consequences for Israel’s political and military leadership, and emphasized that Israeli prisoners held in Gaza would remain alongside resistance fighters in combat zones.

In a series of statements published Friday evening on Telegram, Abu Obeida stressed that the occupation’s plans “will be paid for in the blood of its soldiers” and could lead to the capture of more Israeli troops. He affirmed that resistance fighters remain on high alert, motivated, and determined to deliver “unprecedented acts of bravery” while inflicting heavy losses on invading forces.

He accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of intentionally deciding to reduce by half the number of surviving prisoners in Gaza, and of ensuring that the bodies of many of their dead would never be recovered—responsibility for which, he said, lies squarely with Israel’s leadership.

Regarding the fate of prisoners, Abu Obeida pledged that the Qassam Brigades would make every effort to protect them, but noted that they would remain in areas of combat under the same harsh and dangerous conditions as the fighters themselves. He added that the brigades would publish the name, image, and evidence for each prisoner killed during the ongoing Israeli assault.

Earlier Friday, Al-Qassam announced multiple operations targeting Israeli forces and vehicles in Gaza City’s Zaytoun neighborhood and in Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the Strip. Meanwhile, the Israeli army confirmed it had begun initial operations ahead of an assault on Gaza City, while continuing strikes on residential areas and crowds of starving civilians, killing dozens.

Since August 11, Israel has intensified airstrikes and bombardments on Gaza City’s Sheja’iyya, Zaytoun, and Sabra neighborhoods, as well as on Jabalia, under what it calls “Operation Gideon 2.” The campaign aims to occupy Gaza City and displace its residents further south.

Backed by the United States, Israel has been waging a genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023, marked by mass killings, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement—despite international demands to end the war and rulings by the International Court of Justice.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed and 159,000 wounded since the beginning of the assault, with 322 deaths—including 121 children—attributed to starvation.

(PC, AJA)

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