Despite months of Israel’s occupation and military operations in northern Gaza, Israeli forces have failed to suppress Palestinian fighters who are engaged in intense battles in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, war monitors say.

US-based think tanks, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP), said that despite two “clearing operations” by Israeli forces in Zeitoun, at least seven Palestinian armed groups are fighting against Israeli forces in the area.

Palestinian fighters in Zeitoun carried out at least 92 attacks on Israeli forces between February 19 and 28, the ISW/CTP said in their latest battlefield assessment.

“This high attack rate involving at least seven Palestinian militias using sophisticated military capabilities indicates that Palestinian fighters have retained military capacity in southern Gaza City despite two Israeli clearing operations there,” the think tanks said.

“The militias likely infiltrated into previously cleared areas of southern Gaza City from the uncleared central Gaza Strip,” they said.