The nest of terror that grew in Sejaiya, located in the eastern part of Gaza City, near the border with Israel, did not emerge in a single day. These are many years of intensive work invested by Hamas in military entrenchment and armament above and below the neighborhood's ground. The amount of weapons, operational assets and the dangerous tunnel network built there are enormous, but this is far from just a matter of military capability.
Sejaiya's terrorist operatives grew up in a neighborhood that some would say is considered the most difficult in Gaza City. If you need a scale for comparison, you can look at the Jenin refugee camp and get a little idea of what the DNA of the terrorists who grew up in Sejaiya and who fight stubbornly on the ground against the maneuvering forces on the ground.
"The patience of the residents of Sejaiya is endless." IDF soldiers in the neighborhood, photo: Yossi Zeliger
"It's a very difficult breed. The young people of Sejaiya who are members of the resistance, and in general the activists and commanders there are extremely stubborn," they explain in Gaza. "They have a different mind. They go all the way and don't consider anything. Their patience is endless. Nothing interests them or moves them from what they think and do. They can't be easily influenced, they're in a world of their own." This is how a resident of the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City describes a resident who has since descended to the southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas battalion commanders who grew up in Sejaiya
Sejaiya is one of Hamas' most important strongholds. Ahmed Jabari, Hamas chief of staff who was assassinated by Israel 11 years ago, was born and raised there. So did a member of the organization's political leadership, Rawhi Mushtaha, and other senior officials. Just two weeks ago, Israel announced that it had killed Wassam Farhat, commander of Hamas' Sajaiya battalion. The new commander who stepped into his shoes, Imad Qariqe, was also thwarted from the air a few days ago.
Documentation: Assassination of terrorist Wissam Farhat // Photo: IDF Spokesperson
After that, "voices of revenge" quickly emerged from Gaza. The terrorist organizations took advantage of the results of the tragic incident in the neighborhood in which Israeli commanders and soldiers were killed to create an equation according to which: "You eliminated a battalion commander for us, we also eliminated for you."
Islamic Jihad terrorists are also active in the Gaza terror neighborhood, partly located on a hill, giving it "strategic importance." The "name exchange" of jihadi commanders who left there includes Ramadan Shalah, one of the organization's founders, and Bahaa Abu al-Atta, who was assassinated in 2019.
By the 80s, the neighborhood had become a "playground for novice terrorists." Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives launched armed operations against the IDF, which controlled the Gaza Strip, and new military squads were established there. Fatah military networks also trained in the streets, alleys, and built-up areas. There were relatively few armed incidents at the time, but this was the beginning of the organized terrorist activities that would follow.
Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah, photo: Reuters
Palestinians like to take pride in the neighborhood's name, "Shejaa" in Arabic, which means "brave." Others will sail into history and mention the Muslim fighter Sheja'eddin al-Kurdi, who was killed in battle against the Crusaders in Gaza, as an event that gave rise to the Palestinian ethos around Sejaiya as a fighting neighborhood.
The neighborhood burst into the consciousness of the Israeli public following the incident in which Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul was captured during Operation Protective Edge, but throughout the escalation it served as Hamas' front line of defense. Weapons and weapons are found in the houses themselves, and the terrorist operatives do not even make an effort to remove them, in order to enable those who come after them to quickly find weapons for fighting in the field against the army. Terrorist operatives from Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are also present, in addition to militants from other smaller factions.
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