The Palestinian death toll in Jenin has now risen to at least 5 (some estimates say 8 have been killed) as Israeli airstrikes and ground combat operations have continued into the evening. Fighting has grown significantly as many militant groups in Jenin attempt to combat Israeli forces. The battle has been called the “Fury of Jenin” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and “Operation Home and Garden” by the IDF. Outside of Jenin several attacks against IDF checkpoints have taken place as Palestinian groups carry out attacks both in support of Jenin as well as to try and alleviate pressure on the camp.
An exchange of fire in Jenin pic.twitter.com/qU8ALI4w1Q
— GHMV2 (@GHMV2Research) July 3, 2023
The Lions’ Den, who have been particularly silent for the past while (having only released one statement in the past two months) has breached silence and not only declared that they were sending a group of their fighters directly to Jenin to participate in the fight, but also has called for a general protest and mobilization against Israeli authorities “at exactly 1900 hours”. The Lions’ Den is based in Nablus. Their full statement may be read below:
(Note that this has been translated through google translate and may have occasional translation issues)
In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful
The crowd will be defeated, and they will turn their backs, but the hour is their appointment, and the hour is more severe, and I command that the criminals are in error and price
Great truth of God
Brief statement
In the name of the martyrs and their blood, in the name of the resistance fighters and their pure rifles that knew nothing but glory. They never compromised or truce in the name of the Jenin camp and in the name of Jenin. We say what the martyr Mahmoud Tawalbeh said when he was asked to surrender and that the battle was hit and run. And we say that this battle, which began since the fuse was ignited by Amori and his companions, until today, is a battle of up and down. Mahmoud was right, the martyrs were right, and Jenin was right.
Jenin, which masters the dialogue between them and masters their dialogue, and no one dialogues with them in the universe as Jenin interviewed them. In front of the sacrifices of Jenin, the greatness of its men, its martyrs, and their sacrifices, we call on our people everywhere in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, at home, in the diaspora, and in the Gaza Strip. 1900 To the streets, squares, and checkpoints, cheering for the sake of Jenin, for the sake of its martyrs, for the sake of their sacrifices, everywhere, in every square, at every checkpoint, advance and cut off the settlers’ roads and their supply routes. Our people are the crown of our heads. Our hearts beat in Jenin and the villages of Jenin. relieve the fighters.
We say to our people that a group of fighters from the Lions’ Den fighters have arrived in Jenin camp since the dawn of this day and the mujahideen fighters are now participating in the fighting in the noblest and purest battles
Honor today is fighting, and there is no honor or dignity today without it. As for you, our free people in the city of Nablus, its villages, and its camps, and our people in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the diaspora, let us begin at the same time, all of us, in all cities, in all squares, in all contact points, at exactly 1900 hours. An eye and a duty that does not fall, Jenin today must hear the voice of everyone, to every free fighter, to everyone who owns a weapon, those who could not reach Jenin, their occupants, wherever they are. And the enemy, God willing, has nothing but destruction and blackness. We will show you a scorched land, God willing, under your feet and a black sky above you in every place and location. We do not want our fighters and our people to see the enemy today in colour but blackness. We will set everything on fire.
O sons of our people, from the far south to the far north, the resistance made a covenant and a promise upon it. This battle is hit and hit again, not hit and run. Show us from you what pleases God and heals the hearts of a believing people.
God is great God is great
We’ll see who gets caught
Your brothers of Lions’ Den
As the battle is expanding ever larger, both electricity and water services to Jenin have been cut, with Palestinian groups saying this is due to the significant infrastructure damage that Israel has inflicted upon Jenin since the operation began. Several videos have emerged of Israeli forces using bulldozers in order to dig up streets, an action which the Palestinian Red Crescent has said is making it difficult to reach those who have been wounded.
A street overturned and vehicles damaged by Israeli bulldozers in Jenin pic.twitter.com/s7YmL9xTLN
— GHMV2 (@GHMV2Research) July 3, 2023
