TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / October 4, 2023
Palestine Chronicle Correspondent in Gaza, along with a number of journalists were invited to attend, and report on a military rally for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
Describing it as the “largest military parade in the history of the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip”, hundreds of Islamic Jihad fighters took to the streets in a rare show of strength.
Wednesday, October 4 marked the 36th anniversary of the establishment of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The movement, which has grown in power exponentially in recent years, wanted to send a strong message to Tel Aviv that repeated wars targeting the moment have not weakened it, neither militarily, nor politically.
The military wing of the PIJ, the Al-Quds Brigades, used the anniversary to reveal new weapons, while the numerous fighters representing various military units marched under the flag of Palestine and the movement’s banners.
Some of the rockets and missiles displayed in the parade were used for the first time during the ‘Revenge of the Free’ operation, the codename used by the movement in reference to the Israeli war on Gaza last May.
Israel conducted a series of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip between May 9 and 13, resulting in the killing of 34 Palestinians, including six children.
New long-range missiles, such as the Jaafar missile, were also placed on display during the military march. They include the Badr 3, with an explosive head weighing 400 kilograms.
Moreover, three types of drones were added to the PIJ’s arsenal, and they are: ‘Sahab’, Sayyad, and Hudhud.
The three drones, fully manufactured in Gaza were also presented before a number of journalists who were invited to attend the rally.
The Palestine Chronicle correspondent, who attended the event, noted that much emphasis in the Islamic Jihad discourse – whether through speeches or the display of banners – was placed on unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Constant homage was paid to Khader Adnan, the prominent Palestinian activist who was affiliated with PIJ. Adnan died on May 2 in an Israeli prison, following a 87-day hunger strike in protest against his detention.
Many other PIJ members who were killed by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank were honored by their fellow fighters, who carried their posters throughout the military displays.
