More than a dozen Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in the Gaza Strip over the weekend in some of the bloodiest days of battle since the start of Israel’s ground offensive in late October — and a sign that Hamas is still putting up a fight despite weeks of brutal war.
The mounting death toll among Israeli troops, confirmed by authorities, is likely to play an important factor in Israeli public support for the war. The war has devastated parts of the Gaza Strip, killed more than 20,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly 85 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
Israelis still back the country’s stated goals of crushing Hamas’s governing and military capabilities and releasing the remaining 129 captives.
That support has remained steady despite rising international pressure against Israel’s offensive and the soaring death toll and unprecedented suffering among Palestinians.
But the growing number of dead soldiers could undermine that support. Soldiers’ deaths are a sensitive and emotional topic in Israel, a country with compulsory military service for most Jews. The names of the fallen are announced at the top of hourly newscasts and — in a small country of about nine million people — virtually every family knows a relative, friend or co-worker who has lost a family member in war.
The 14 Israeli soldiers killed on Friday and Saturday died in battles in central and southern Gaza, an indication of how Hamas is still putting up tough resistance, even as Israel claims to have dealt a serious blow to the militant group.
According to Israeli Army Radio, four soldiers were killed when their vehicle was struck by an anti-tank missile. The others were killed in separate, sporadic fighting. Another was killed in northern Israel by fire from the Lebanese Shia militant group Hizbullah, which has kept up low-level fighting with Israel since the war with Hamas erupted, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
Their deaths bring the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the ground offensive began to 153.
Even if Israelis have been supportive of the war effort, there has been widespread anger against the government of prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu which many criticise for failing to protect civilians on the October 7th Hamas attack and promoting policies that allowed that Islamist group to gain strength over the years.
On Saturday night, thousands of people demonstrated in pouring rain in Tel Aviv, chanting “Bibi, Bibi, we don’t want you any more!” referring to Mr Netanyahu by his nickname.
The Israeli PM has avoided claiming responsibility for the military and policy failures leading up to October 7th, saying he would answer tough questions once the fighting is over.
On Saturday, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said forces were expanding their offensive in northern and southern Gaza and troops were fighting in “complex areas” in Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, where Israel believes Hamas leaders are hiding.
Israel’s offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history and has claimed a staggering toll on Palestinian civilians. More than two-thirds of the 20,000 killed were women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday morning that a 13-year-old boy was shot and killed by an Israeli drone attack while inside the building of al-Amal hospital, which is run by the charity, in Khan Younis.
Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombardment and gunfire Sunday morning in the town of Jabaliya, an area north of Gaza City that Israel had previously claimed to control. Sounds of explosions and gunfire echoed across the town with Israeli warplanes flying over the area, they said.
Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian death toll, citing the militants’ use of crowded residential areas and tunnels. Israel has launched thousands of airstrikes since early October.
The mounting casualties on both sides came days after the United Nations Security Council passed a watered-down resolution calling for the speedy delivery of humanitarian aid for hungry and desperate Palestinians and the release of all the hostages, but not for a ceasefire.
Following the UN resolution, it was not immediately clear how and when aid deliveries would accelerate. Trucks enter through two crossings — Rafah on the border with Egypt and Kerem Shalom on the border with Israel. On Friday, fewer than 100 trucks entered, the UN said — far below the daily average of 500 before the war.
Both crossings were closed on Saturday by mutual agreement among Israel, Egypt and the UN, Israeli officials said.
Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu discussed the “objectives and phasing” of Israel’s military operations, the need to protect civilian lives and secure the release of hostages from Hamas, the White House said.
Mr Netanyahu “made clear that Israel will pursue the war until all of its objectives are fully met”, his office said.
Israel’s main ally has maintained its support while expressing concern over the growing casualty toll and humanitarian crisis in densely populated Gaza. US officials have said they expect Israel to shift soon to a lower-intensity phase, with operations targeting the Hamas leadership and its infrastructure.
Mr Biden said he “did not ask for a ceasefire”, while Mr Netanyahu’s office said he thanked the US president for the United States stand at the security council.
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The council averted a threatened US veto on Friday after days of wrangling by removing from a draft resolution a call for an immediate end to the war and diluting Israeli control over aid deliveries. The US and Israel oppose a ceasefire, contending it would let Iran-backed Hamas regroup and rearm.
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