The Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (PIJ), Ziyad al-Nakhalah, confirmed on Sunday that the “Palestinian resistance will continue to fight until victory, as the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip enters its eighth month.”
The statement was relayed by the pro-Iranian al-Mayadeen media, which often republishes the statements of Hezbollah, Hamas, and other groups. He said this vow came after a meeting of a number of “Palestinian resistance factions” in Damascus. He did not specify which groups met there. PIJ is an Iranian proxy group and it often coordinates with Tehran and with Hamas and also with Hezbollah.
According to al-Nakhalah the Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, which he calls “resistance factions” are now in a massive fight in Gaza “the likes of which they have never faced before.” It wasn’t clear from his comment if he means that they are on the ropes and they are facing too many casualties, or it was more along the lines of the Saddam Hussein “mother of all battles” propaganda line.
“He continued by saying that the Palestinian people are fighting in Gaza as they have never fought before and that the Israeli occupation is facing resistance that it has never faced before,” Al-Mayadeen media said. According to the PIJ leader, who relaxes in Damascus while his fighters are being killed, the path of the war is the best possible one for the movement.
This is “despite all the sacrifices and pure souls offered by the Palestinian people.” For Hamas, Iran, PIJ, and others, the suffering of people is always justified to get to their final goal of destroying Israel. What’s interesting here is at least the PIJ leader admits it.
"The Gaza war is an opportunity for all fighters to confront the Zionist axis…[this war is] a test for all of us and for our people who suffer from occupation and displacement.” Iran is trying to get PIJ to help unite various Palestinian terror groups as part of its overall goal to “unite the arenas” against Israel. This means using Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other groups in attacks on Israel.
Leaders say they are ready to fight the IDF in Rafah
The PIJ leader said that the IDF would face similar “resistance” in Rafah as it did in Khan Younis. The Palestinian terror groups were defeated in Khan Younis, so it was not clear what he meant. He clearly thinks that the terrorists that his group backs in Gaza are continuing to perform well in Rafah and other areas. He repeated claims made by PIJ fighters in Gaza that they used a “107” missile to target the IDF.
Apparently, this refers to the typical 107mm rocket that is used by groups in Gaza and other Iranian-backed groups in the region. This is a staple of the Iranian-backed militia arsenal.
“The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, carried out, two days ago, an elaborate ambush with Israeli force, detonating a minefield prepared in advance inside a barracks site east of Rafah,” the report also said. The report also said that the PIJ’s fighters targeted an IDF tank in Gaza using “Al-Yassin 105” munitions. This weapon has been used recently by Hamas and PIJ.
In general, the groups refer to “Yasin” as a type of anti-tank weapon similar to an RPG-7. Reports say the Al-Yasin 105 is a system that uses a high-explosive anti-tank warhead that works with RPG-7 systems.