Israeli soldiers continue to die in Gaza
Israeli soldiers continue to die in Gaza
TEHRAN - More than 460 days after the U.S.-backed Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, the Palestinian resistance fighters continue to kill Israeli soldiers.
Despite reducing Gaza to rubble and the vast number of war crimes committed against the civilian population, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have failed to eliminate the resistance fighters.
The IOF admitted on Wednesday that a soldier was killed by resistance fire in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, bringing the officially announced number of Israeli troops killed to 828 since October 7, 2023.
The slain soldier is Sergeant Ido Shamiatch, a member of the special forces in the Nahal Brigade, who was killed before sunrise on Tuesday, according to the IOF announcement.
On Tuesday, an IOF spokesperson announced the death of two soldiers, including a company commander in Battalion 932 of the Nahal Brigade, during battles in the northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli media also reported that a soldier had been killed in the Gaza Strip and another had sustained serious injuries.
On Wednesday, the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, in coordination with the al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, announced it had "targeted a Zionist enemy command and control center in Juhor al-Dik village (south of Gaza City) with standard 60mm mortar shells in response to the occupation regime's crimes against our people."
The IOF is widely believed to have destroyed the village last year to construct the Netzarim Corridor, which has split Gaza in half.
On Sunday, Israeli media reported five casualties among the IOF who were transferred from the Gaza Strip due to an explosive device detonation. They were reported to have sustained severe injuries.
Experts believe the Israeli regime is hiding the real number of fatalities in Gaza.
The armed wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam brigades, published a video showcasing the seizure of several IOF drones east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.
The footage shows the quadcopter drones containing footage of Israeli positions and equipment.
Al-Qassam Brigades also released footage of its fighters targeting Israeli forces entering Jabalia, north of the Strip.
As the Palestinian resistance continues to confront the IOF, the former head of the Israeli Security Council, Giora Eiland, has said "Israel decided that military pressure alone would achieve the war's objectives, and this was a grave mistake because military pressure is the strategy Hamas has been preparing for over 15 years."
Yossi Yehoshua, the military affairs analyst for the Israeli i24NEWS channel, admitted that "it is very difficult to dismantle Hamas' military wing."
Yehoshua also spoke about facing a "dilemma in the Gaza Strip," noting that "Israel has been unable to establish an alternative authority to Hamas there on the one hand, and on the other, it has to wait for a prisoner exchange deal," adding that "the deal is not close at the moment."
The Israeli military analyst also stated that the IOF Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, "made it clear that the army does not intend to withdraw from the Gaza Strip quickly."
At the same time, "the political leadership must decide whether the army will enter Gaza City."
Yehoshua previously acknowledged that Hamas "succeeded in rebuilding its capabilities, recruiting new fighters, and doubling its firepower, while Israel remains stuck in a complex situation that is difficult to escape from and is waiting for a deal to be finalized."
Former Israeli vie prime minister, Haim Ramon, recently highlighted "the depth of failure in the Gaza Strip," after the "inability to achieve the main objective of the war, which was to overthrow Hamas' rule and eliminate its military capabilities."
In an article in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Ramon pointed out that Hamas' military strength is still operational, and its civilian rule still extends throughout the Gaza Strip, despite facing heavy strikes and the death of both Yahya Sinwar and Esmail Haniyeh.
The former minister stated that Hamas "still controls all areas not occupied by the Israeli army, retains a large military force, holds 100 prisoners, and conducts effective combat against Israeli forces."
He also highlighted Hamas' ability to launch rockets at Israel, saying, "Even this week, rockets continued to fall from Gaza, as if we hadn't fought there for 15 months."
Ramon emphasized that the war in Gaza "represents a resounding strategic failure," explaining that this failure "was the result of a wrong strategic plan and the inability of both military and political leadership to draw lessons and adopt an alternative strategic plan."
Israeli warplanes, drones and artillery fire continue to kill civilians in Gaza, most of them women and children.
On Wednesday, the Gaza Health Ministry announced another 51 Palestinians had been killed and 78 others injured over the past 24 hours.
This means the total number of registered deaths by the ministry in Gaza since October 7, 2023, has reached 45,885. The total number of injuries registered by the ministry has reached 109,196.
source: tehrantimes.com