Al-Qassam Website - On the night of November 11, 2018, it was unthinkable for the leaders of the Israeli occupation security and military establishment that the security myth of the "Sayeret Matkal Unit" they built over decades would collapse, within hours, at the hands of the Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip.

A special force of 15 members of the best commando units in the occupation military forces, "Sayeret Matkal," infiltrated east of Khan Younis on an intelligence-gathering incursion to plant a spy system to eavesdrop on the resistance's communication network. This force later became a big fish for the resistance.

Today marks the anniversary of the Sword's Edge operation, in which the al-Qassam Brigades crippled the "Sayeret Matkal" unit, one of the Israeli occupation military's most significant units, and led to its complete failure. 

Sword's Edge

The Al-Qassam Brigades fighters blew the infiltrating force's true cover and clashed with them, killing its commander and wounding others. The rest of its members fled, leaving their weapons and equipment on the battlefield, dragging their tails with disappointment and failure calling in airstrikes for cover. During the extraction, Israeli occupation aircraft fired more than 40 missiles in the area where the incident occurred, killing seven Qassam fighters, one of whom was senior commander Nour el-Din Baraka. 

By destroying the vehicle carrying the special forces, the occupation authorities tried to conceal any evidence that might help know the targets of the infiltration operation or obtain technical devices and equipment, but they failed.

Al-Qassam Brigades called this operation "Sword's Edge" and gave, a few days later, citations to the undercover soldiers who took part in the botched operation, the nature of their tasks, and the unit in which they worked. Publishing these names and photographs revealed by al-Qassam Brigades was banned by order of the Israeli military censor.

The Occupation Leaders' Surrender

Due to the catastrophic failure of the "Sayeret Matkal" unit east of Khan Unis, Israeli Occupation War Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned only two days after the failed operation. Commander of the Special Operations Department of the Military Intelligence Division of the Israeli occupation military and former commander of the "Sayeret Matkal" unit was also forced to resign weeks later.

In the wake of the humiliating defeat, Chief of Staff of the occupation, Aviv Kohavi, admitted the failure of the operation and Hamas' control of military documents, equipment, and other devices.

Strategic Challenge

The senior military analyst at Hebrew Channel 14 News, Alon Ben David, has previously admitted that what the Qassam Brigades had revealed would destroy projects for the occupation forces in Gaza and the Arab countries that took them years to build.

Ben David stressed that the pictures of the perpetrators of this covert operation in Khan Yunis the Al-Qassam Brigades published is considered the maximum level of damage, and it is a far-reaching strategic damage that will badly affect "Israel's" presence in the entire Middle East region.

Resistance's response to the aggression

Al-Qassam Brigades gradually responded to the occupation's aggression with high confidence and capacity through a short round of escalation, proving the resistance's awareness and the justice of its cause.

On November 12, 2018, in response to the Zionist failed operation and the bloodshed of the martyrs, Al-Qassam Brigades targeted a Zionist soldiers' carrier on the perimeter fence east of Jabalia with a Kornet-guided missile, killing and wounding those inside it. Al-Qassam published a videotape documenting the moment the bus was targeted.

The resistance's response to the Zionist aggression continued by targeting the occupation entity with homemade missiles, some of which were revealed for the first time by the al-Qassam Brigades. 

According to Zionist sources, some missiles hit the targets directly, killing three and injuring more than 100. The missiles were described as advanced and highly accurate.

Turning Point

The military spokesman for the Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaida, said that the Sword's Edge represented a turning point in managing the conflict between the resistance and the Israeli occupation. 

Abu Obaida confirmed that the various information and data obtained by Al-Qassam after the failed operation represented a real intelligence treasure and an unprecedented blow to the occupation's intelligence and its "elite" and secret forces.

The "Sword's Edge" operation demonstrated the ability of the qualitative resistance to surprise the Israeli occupation and its constant high vigilance against the occupation's incursions in Gaza. It also proved that al-Qassam is the true protector of the Palestinians from any Zionist aggression.