Gaza – The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, launched a series of “Moses’ Staff” operations in response to the Israeli “Gideon’s Vehicles 2” operation aimed at occupying Gaza City and displacing its residents.

Although the Israeli operation’s name carries a biblical Torah connotation reflecting the occupation government’s ambition to impose control over the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian resistance insists on thwarting Israeli goals through readiness for confrontation and adopting new field tactics aimed at inflicting maximum losses on occupation soldiers.

Recent field operations by the Al-Qassam Brigades indicate attempts to achieve strategic goals capable of delivering a severe blow to the Israeli army and thwarting the “achievements” promoted by the Israeli government by carrying out qualitative attacks leading to the capture of new soldiers.

This contrasts with statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Gaza—who believes that military pressure leads to the release of prisoners from Gaza.

This approach was evident during the Al-Fukhari operation east of Khan Younis, when on August 20th, the Al-Qassam Brigades sent a full faction to storm a newly established Israeli army camp.

It was followed last Saturday in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, where a direct confrontation erupted between the resistance fighters and the occupation army, with reports of four Israeli soldiers missing, prompting intervention by warplanes and aerial rescue teams.

A tweet by Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades, posted last Saturday, reinforced this approach, stating that “the enemy’s criminal plans to occupy Gaza will be a curse on its political and military leadership, and the enemy’s army will pay the price with the blood of its soldiers, increasing the chances of capturing new soldiers.”

A field commander in the resistance factions told Al Jazeera that “fighters on the ground have learned from all previous confrontations in direct clashes with occupation soldiers and now know well how to pose a threat through well-planned ambushes.”

According to the field commander, the firepower used by the occupation during its incursion into residential areas will not keep its soldiers safe, and the resistance has been able to tailor its plans to suit enemy movements on the ground, ensuring they fall into concentrated ambushes.

Palestinian writer and political analyst Wissam Afifa said the Israeli army’s “Gideon’s Vehicles 2” military campaign is based on a Torah symbol reflecting an ambition to impose full control by force, to which the Palestinian resistance responded with “Moses’ Staff” operations and ambushes, directly referencing the miracle that nullified Pharaoh’s magic and reversed the equation.

Afifa explained to Al Jazeera that this religious symbolism is not just names but reflects a parallel war of narratives and morale alongside the battlefield, where the occupation seeks to legitimize its war historically and doctrinally, while the resistance employs Quranic symbols carrying moral messages to its audience and challenges its adversary.

He pointed out that the Israeli side’s announcement approving a plan to control Gaza City is an attempt to demonstrate its doubled capability to decide the outcome.

In military reality, Afifa confirmed that “Moses’ Staff” may face “Gideon’s Vehicles 2” through guerrilla warfare tactics experienced by the resistance, including advanced ambushes, tunnels, explosives, and striking supply lines, methods proven to weaken the technologically superior force and repeatedly forced the occupation to retreat or modify its plans.

The analyst predicted the operation will not be a confrontation of names but a clash of wills and strategies, as the Israeli army seeks to impose comprehensive field control, while the resistance still holds the initiative on familiar ground, considering it a stronghold for a protracted battle.

The name “Gideon’s Vehicles” for the military operation in Gaza dates back to May, when the Israeli army announced its aim to expand the war, transfer most residents to Rafah in southern Gaza, then introduce ground forces to gradually occupy wide parts of Gaza, preparing for a long-term military presence to eliminate Hamas and destroy its tunnels completely.

The name “Gideon’s Vehicles” is linked to Jewish religious heritage, where the Torah narrative describes “Gideon” as an Israeli military leader who defeated large Midianite armies with a small force.

The Israeli army announced the end of “Gideon’s Vehicles” last month but failed to achieve any of its goals, as revealed by an internal army document reported by Hebrew Channel 12, which confirmed that “the operation focused on destroying buildings, while the army made every possible mistake in managing the battle contrary to its combat doctrine,” and that the operation contributed to Israel losing international legitimacy in the war on Gaza.

Despite this failure, the Israeli occupation army launched the second version with the same objectives, prompting Israeli army reserve general Yitzhak Brick to warn that “the plan to occupy Gaza is unattainable and will lead to chaos in Israel,” according to the Hebrew newspaper Maariv.

Brick confirmed that the state of ground forces explains the inability to defeat Hamas, and the lack of additional forces reduced the ability to remain in areas occupied by the army, which did not establish professional forces to deal with hundreds of kilometers of tunnels in Gaza.