Marking the first anniversary of the Gaza war in 2014, Al-Monitor made a number of field trips to the Shajaiya neighborhood, in the eastern part of Gaza City. Shajaiya is the largest neighborhood in Gaza with 100,000 residents, and it enjoys military importance, as El Montar — a hill rising 85 meters (279 feet) above sea level — is located there. During the Palestinian intifadas, the area was the scene of confrontations between Palestinians and Israelis, and it was the target of Israeli air raids during the wars in 2008, 2012 and 2014.
Israeli stories have been emerging about the daily fighting that took place in Shajaiya last summer. Israeli Col. Ghassan Alian recently published as part of a book one such story about the strikes his soldiers endured when they entered Shajaiya during the war in 2014.
Israeli newspaper Maariv published on July 19 interviews with Israeli generals who talked about how fierce the Shajaiya battles were.
On April 29, Israeli Channel 2 talked about the Shajaiya battles, saying they changed the face of the war and became a symbol for Hamas fighters. The channel aired harsh testimonies of soldiers who had participated in this battle. Israeli Channel 10 reported on April 5 on an investigation of an incident that took place on July 20, 2014, in which Hamas destroyed a personnel carrier in Shajaiya, resulting in the death of seven Israeli soldiers.
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