Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on June 29 that another one of its soldiers had been killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip.
The slain soldier was serving in the ranks of the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion. According to an initial IDF probe, Rosenfeld was killed by an explosive device during operations in the Kafr Jabalia area.
The latest death brought the number of Israeli troops killed since the start of the large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza, codenamed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” to 22. In total, Israel has lost 441 troops, police officers and contractors since the start of ground operations in the Strip and along its borders more than a year ago.
The IDF has been facing increasing resistance while operating in Gaza, especially in the northern and southern parts of the Strip.
In recent days, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Movement, and the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, released several videos showing recent attacks on Israeli troops, ranging from ambushes to rocket and mortar strikes.
One of the videos released by the al-Qassam Brigades documents an attack on a Puma armored combat engineering vehicle in the southern city of Khan Younis from June 24 that claimed the lives of seven troops from the IDF’s 605th Combat Engineering Battalion.
Israel launched Operation Gideon’s Chariots last month after calling up tens of thousands of reservists. The IDF stated at the time that it wants to occupy 75 percent of Gaza within two months.
Faced with mounting losses and growing international pressure, Israel may now be preparing to back down, at least temporarily.
Israel launched Operation Gideon’s Chariots last month after calling up tens of thousands of reservists. Currently, five divisions are operating in Gaza.
The IDF publicly said that it wants to occupy 75 percent of Gaza within the first two months of the operation. Once this is done, more than two million Palestinians will be crammed in three isolated small zones in the southern, central and northern parts of the Strip.
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