Palestinian resistance officials during the Al-Rukn Al-Shadid (Mighty Pillar) 4 in Gaza, Palestine, September 12, 2023 (Palestinian resistance media)

It was announced today that the Joint Operations Room of Palestinian Resistance Factions (JOR) initiated the Al-Rukn al-Shadid (Mighty Pillar) 4 drills, kicking off with a rocket launch toward the sea

A military official from the Joint Room stated that the exercise serves as a continuation of the annual Al-Rukn al-Shadid conducted by the resistance factions, encompassing both land and sea combat scenarios.

Speaking to the WAFA agency, the military official clarified that the objective of the exercise is to enhance preparedness and readiness of all Resistance factions in the face of Israeli threats.

المقاومة الفلسطينية تبدأ مناورة "الركن الشديد 4" بإطلاق رشقة صاروخية تجاه عرض بحر غزة. pic.twitter.com/1amL5PNBbq
— السيد ابراهيم مهدي (@SayedIbrahimMah) September 12, 2023

The military official outlined that the maneuvers would simulate scenarios involving infiltrations, raid operations, attacks behind enemy lines, the capture of soldiers, and missile strikes on hypothetical sea targets.

The drills also coincide with the 18th anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

On this occasion, Hamas emphasized that the comprehensive Resistance, which succeeded in repelling the occupation from Gaza and steadfastly faced its continuous terrorism and aggression for many years, is now capable of thwarting all Israeli attempts at the Judaization of al-Quds and the proliferation of settlements in the West Bank.

The statement further asserted that the escalating aggression of the occupation in al-Quds and the West Bank "will not grant it any fabricated legitimacy on an inch of Palestinian land, and its crimes will not change the historical and on-ground realities."

The Ministry of Interior in Gaza announced that field measures would accompany the drills, involving the internal front and the deployment of security agencies. These measures would include gunfire and explosions, as well as the significant movement of Resistance elements, security, ambulance, and civil defense vehicles.

The Joint Operations Room of the Palestinian Resistance factions confirmed on Sunday that it conducted a reconnaissance and inspection tour of military Resistance sites and surveillance points along the separation barrier between the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948.

The tour was done to ensure that Resistance fighters were prepared and ready to engage enemies, if necessary, in the highly strategic zone of the Gaza Strip.