Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has acknowledged that seven more officers and soldiers were killed while taking part in ground operations against the Hamas Movement and other Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip.
Late on November 18, the IDF announced the death of five troops: a company commander in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion; a platoon commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion; a platoon commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion; a soldier of the Nahal Infantry Brigade’s reconnaissance unit; and a soldier of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion. Eight more troops were seriously wounded.
The death of two more troops, a team commander in the Combat Engineering Corps’ Yahalom unit and a soldier from the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion, was announced on November 19 morning. The IDF said that another soldier was seriously wounded.
The seven new casualties brought the number of Israeli troops killed since the start of ground operations in Gaza to 58. More than 260 others were reportedly wounded.
Clashes intensified in northern Gaza on November 18 after the IDF developed its ground operations. The 6th Armored Division launched an offensive in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City and the 162nd Armored Division launched another offensive in the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said that its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli troops with explosive devices and damaged or destroyed a total of 17 vehicles of the IDF in different directions during the day.
The al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said that its fighters targeted 14 other Israeli vehicles and several troop gatherings.
It’s with noting that the IDF stepped up strikes on northern and southern Gaza to support its new offensives. As a result, hundreds were killed. At least 50 lost their lives in al-Fakhoora School, which is run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, in Jabalia.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that the death toll in the Strip has reached 12,300 since hostilities started. More than 5,000 children are among the dead, alongside 3,300 women, with 30,000 more people wounded, according to the ministry.
Despite sustaining more losses, the IDF will likely continue with its ground operations in Gaza. Recent reports suggest that an agreement on a ceasefire that allows for the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Strip is near. However, the ceasefire will last only for a few days, or weeks at best.
