The National Resistance Brigades ( ar, كتائب المقاومة الوطنية, translit=Katāʼib al-Muqāwamah al-Waṭanīyah), also known as Martyr Omar Al-Qassem Forces or Martyr Omar Al-Qasim Forces, are the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which operates in Gaza and conducts guerilla warfare. Abu Khaled is one of its commanders.

History

It was formed in 1969 but it was established in late September 2000. The group was initially known as the Red Star Brigades, before being renamed the Palestinian National Resistance Battalions during the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

. They remain committed to a non-intervention policy in the domestic affairs of any

Arab country The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...

. In August 2001, Palestinian security forces Amin Abu Hatab, aged 26, and Hisham Abu Jamus, aged 24, carried out an attack on an Israeli army base. They killed three Israeli soldiers. In 2005, they reorganized before the Israeli disengagement from Gaza and took part in firing rockets and mortars against Israeli areas inside Gaza's borders. In October 2007, they signed an agreement with other Palestinian factions, including Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and between 2010 and 2011 they carried out attacks with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. On 26 September they shelled Sderot with the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which they said was a response to Israeli crimes against Palestinians in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and Gaza. They took part in the 2014 Gaza War, and their spokesman Abu Khaled reported in an intervew that 25 members of the National Resistance Brigades had been killed, including media officer Youssef Al-Wasifi. He reported that 750 rockets and mortar shells had been fired by the brigades at Israeli settlements, 20 sniper operations had been carried out, and that they had killed at least 8 Israeli soldiers in video-recorded operations. In May 2017 they conducted a joint exercise with the Abdel Qader al-Husseini Brigades at a military training site in the Gaza Strip to display new artillery and missile tactics. On 30 March 2018, 'Abd al-Qader Mardi and Suliman al-Hawajri, members of the National Resistance Brigades, were killed during the Great Return March but didn't participate in hostilities. In 2020 they expanded their online presence and they promoted their militant activity on Telegram. In May 2021 they targeted Sufa, in Israel, with rockets. In February 2023, they announced that they bombed Israeli settlements bordering the Gaza Strip in response to Israeli strikes, and in April they bombed the city of Ashkelon.

Israel-Hamas war

The National Resistance Brigades participated in the

2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel On 7 October 2023, the paramilitary wings of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, and the DFLP launched a series of coordinated armed incursions into the Gaza envelope of neighboring Israeli territory, the first invasion of Israel s ...

against Israeli forces and their troops joined the operation launched by

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

. On 7 October they claimed to have lost three fighters in combat with the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, and on 8 October they were engaged with Israeli forces in

Kfar Aza Kfar Aza ( he, כְּפַר עַזַּה, ''lit.'' Gaza Village) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located between Netivot and Sderot around five kilometres east of Gaza, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In it ...

, Be'eri, and

Kissufim Kissufim ( he, כִּסּוּפִים, ''lit.'' Yearning) is a kibbutz in the northwestern Negev desert in Israel. Located adjacent to the Gaza Strip at an altitude of 92 meters above sea level, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional C ...

. On February 19, 2024, their spokesman Abu Khaled announced that during the attack, the National Resistance Brigades had carried out more than 400 operations, including 100 armed clashes with Israeli forces, targeting 25 vehicles, sniping 5 soldiers, firing 110 rocket salvoes, targeting 160 positions with mortars, and shooting down Israeli drones. He also stated that 37 fighters had been killed during the war, including on October 7th and from airstrikes, and others had been arrested or were missing. The National Resistance Brigades participated in the battle of Khan Yunis, which ended in an Israeli withdrawal from the city in April 2024.

References

{{reflist Anti-Israeli sentiment Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Anti-Zionism in the Palestinian territories Guerrilla organizations Maoist organizations Palestinian militant groups Political parties established in 1969 Axis of Resistance