Spontaneous celebrations swept through the occupied West Bank and Lebanon following a recent operation by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas against Israeli forces in the northern Gaza Strip.

Joyous scenes unfolded particularly in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, and refugee camps in Lebanon. Residents of the camps expressed their jubilation with loudspeakers blaring praises and setting off firecrackers.

The festivities took place on Sunday in the Palestinian city of Dura in the southern West Bank and in Lebanese refugee camps including Ain al-Hilweh, Nahr el-Bared, el-Buss, and Rashidieh.

The celebrations followed a "complex" operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, targeting Israeli forces in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.

In a recorded message early Sunday, al-Qassam spokesperson Abu Obeida described the operation, stating that resistance fighters had lured a Zionist force into a tunnel ambush, resulting in the deaths, injuries, and capture of all the Israeli soldiers involved.

"Our fighters continue to teach the Israeli occupation lessons on the battlefields," Abu Obeida said in a televised speech at dawn. He criticized the Israeli government for its "blind, absurd policy of revenge and destruction," asserting that it moves from "failure to failure."

He further accused the Israeli forces of exhuming the remains of their prisoners for political purposes, vowing to continue confronting the Israeli enemy in every street, neighborhood, city, and camp in the Gaza Strip. Abu Obeida promised to reveal more details of these operations, emphasizing that Israel’s ongoing aggression would come at a high price.

Hamas also released a video showing a bloodied Israeli soldier being dragged through a tunnel and photos of seized military fatigues and a rifle.

The conflict intensified on October 7 when the Israeli occupation launched a US-backed military campaign against the Gaza Strip in response to a significant operation by Hamas. Despite almost eight months of offensive actions, the Tel Aviv regime has not achieved its objectives in Gaza, although at least 35,903 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 80,420 others injured. (ILKHA)