Click to see full-size image. Source: the Israeli Defense Forces.
On November 1 afternoon, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that four more soldiers were killed while taking part in the ongoing ground operation against the Hamas Movement and other armed factions in the Gaza Strip.
The four soldiers were all serving in the range of the 84th “Givati” Brigade. In the morning, the IDF said that seven soldiers from the brigade and two others from the 77th “Oz” Armor Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade were killed after a Namer armored personnel carrier and a Merkava main battle tank were destroyed by Hamas fighters.
The new casualties brought the number of Israeli troops killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation on October 27 to 15. The death toll is expected to rise in coming hours as many troops were reportedly seriously wounded during clashes in the Strip.
The IDF has been advancing along al-Rasheed Street on the coast of Gaza, near the city of Beit Lahia in the northeastern part of the Strip and in Wadi Gaza, right to the south of Gaza City.
Brigade General Itzik Cohen, the commander of the IDF’s 162nd Division, told reporters that his troops are currently located deep in Gaza, “at the gates of Gaza City.”
The military commander said that five days ago, his division “received an important task, to go and decisively finish Hamas.”
“We have destroyed much of Hamas’s abilities, attacked its strategic facilities, all of its array of explosives, its underground tunnels and other facilities we completely destroyed,” Brig. Gen. Cohen said, noting that this is a “long task,” and that this is “a war for the existence of the State of Israel — and we will win.”
From its side, Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced a series of defensive operations in the afternoon.
The operations included an attack against a tank with a rocket-propelled grenade near Juhor Ad Dik area in Wadi Gaza, the destruction of four military vehicle, three tanks and an infantry unit in the city of Beit Hanoun and the killing of three troops during a raid to the east of the Erez crossing,
In addition, suicide drones targeted the Mars military site and two gatherings of troops and equiptment to the west of Noor City in southern Gaza and to the east of the Strip’s Central Governorate. Several other sites and gatherings were targeted with mortars and rockets.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades also fired rockets at nearby settlements and the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv. No casualties were reported however.
In what appears to be a response to Hamas fierce resistance, the IDF stepped up strikes on Gaza. There were even reports of a new massacre at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern part of the Strip, where more than 50 Palestinians were killed and dozens others were wounded just a day earlier.
According to a recent update by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, at least 8,796 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes since the war broke out. 3,648 children and 2,290 are among the dead. More than 22,219 others have been wounded, so far.
Despite its recent heavy losses, Israel appears to be determined to further develop its ground operation in Gaza. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said earlier in the day that the IDF was making immense achievements in its ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
“I am impressed by the activities of our forces,” he said in comments during an assessment held near Gaza. “This is a determined, decisive action. There is strong cooperation between ground and air forces.”
Gallant said that “there are very important achievements being made in the field — hitting terrorists of all levels, from fighters in the field to high-ranked ones.” The defense minister noted IDF activity is exposing underground tunnels and forcing the terrorists out.
He added that there are, of course, “prices paid on our side, as happens in any battle,” a reference to the 15 soldiers killed so far in the ground operations.
The IDF advance in Gaza could slow down in coming days as losses increase. Nevertheless, Israel will not likely call off the ground operation.
i heard the hjoutis are about to put lots of sea mimes in the red ocean waters.
that won’t go well for commercial shipping. egypt will have to step in to stop it.
israel is getting its comeuppance. just saying. stepped on too many toes. either way the u.s military industtrial complex couldn’t care less about how many israelis or palestinians die they just admitted that it’s good for business.
too much fentanyl in your omaha trailer park—israel is obliterating gaza
israel is murdering women and children – the only enemy they’re capable of killing in large numbers.
no resistance to lgbt in my nursing home
a good hamas is a dead hamas.
more dead idf trannies is just what the world needs. maddog nut’nyahoo is the new zelensky now that the kiev koke kike is getting chucked under the broken us ….bu$. onward to the end of the evil eussr aka natostan and the rest of the anglozionazi empire of filth. z
every killed israely soldier is worth three thousands massacred palestinians.