Middle East - Israel's army suffers increasing losses
Around two months after the start of the Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, the Islamist Hamas is causing increasing losses among Israel's ground troops by switching to guerrilla tactics, according to a media report. This shows how difficult it is for Israel to eliminate Hamas as intended, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Over the Christmas weekend alone, 14 Israeli soldiers were killed. Meanwhile, Pope Francis called for peace at the Christmas Mass in Rome.
More than 150 Israeli soldiers already killed
According to the "Jerusalem Post", Israel's war cabinet will discuss a proposal from Egypt to end the war this Monday. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the day before that the fighting would continue until Hamas had been completely defeated. Since the start of the ground offensive at the end of October, 156 Israeli soldiers have been killed, reported the Times of Israel. According to a military estimate, Israel claims to have killed around 7860 terrorists in the Gaza war so far.
If the estimate is correct, the number of Islamist fighters killed would correspond to almost 40 percent of the total number of deaths recorded in the Gaza Strip to date. The military's figures could not initially be independently verified. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, around 70 people were killed in new Israeli attacks. Several families in the Al-Maghasi refugee district were affected. This could not be independently verified either. Israel's army wanted to investigate the reports.
Army: Bodies of hostages recovered
According to the army, the bodies of five of the hostages were recovered from a network of tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip. The mortal remains of the men and women abducted from Israel on October 7 were found in a very extensive and deep tunnel system in the Jabalia refugee district, it said. According to Israel, a number of Hamas terrorists are hiding in such tunnels and are also holding other hostages from Israel there.
The terrorists also use the underground routes to emerge from nowhere and attack from behind. Hamas is now attacking with cells of just two to five fighters before they dive back into the tunnels, theWall Street Journal reported, citing a senior Israeli officer.
Report: Hamas uses women and children
They also operated from civilian safe havens and used women and children to gather information and transport weapons, it was reported. Hamas is also storing weapons in hundreds of empty houses. This enables its fighters to move around freely, pretend to be civilians and grab weapons at the last moment before an attack.
The rising number of fallen Israeli soldiers has led to internal criticism that Israel is endangering its soldiers by reducing its use of force in response to US demands to limit the number of civilian casualties, writes the Wall Street Journal. Israeli security officials and Prime Minister Netanyahu denied a change in tactics. A complete victory over Hamas is the only way to eliminate Hamas, return all hostages and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Report: Egypt proposes plan to end the war
The Saudi TV channel Aschark News reported on the same day, citing informed sources, that Egypt's proposal envisaged an end to the war in several stages. In the first phase, the aim would be to enforce a ceasefire lasting at least two weeks. During this time, 40 hostages would be released. In return, Israel would release 120 Palestinian prisoners. This would be followed by a Palestinian dialog under the auspices of Egypt.
A third phase would then provide for a complete ceasefire and a comprehensive agreement on the exchange of hostages and prisoners. In a final step, Israel would withdraw its army, while all displaced persons could return to their homes.
What will be important on Monday
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel's war cabinet will discuss a proposal from Egypt to end the war in phases. Meanwhile, the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip continues to suffer from the effects of the ongoing fierce fighting.
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- The Islamist group Hamas is causing significant losses among Israel's ground troops during the Gaza war, according to a report in the Times of Israel.
- Over the Christmas weekend, 14 Israeli soldiers were killed in the ongoing Gaza war, making the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the ground offensive 156.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Pope Francis called for peace during a Christmas Mass in Rome, urging for an end to the conflicts in the Middle East.
- Egypt is proposing a plan to end the Gaza war, which involves several stages, including a ceasefire and the release of hostages and prisoners, according to Aschark News.
- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that the fighting will continue until Hamas has been completely defeated, despite the high number of Israeli casualties.
- According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel claims to have killed around 7860 terrorists during the Gaza war, which could correspond to almost 40% of the total number of deaths in the Gaza Strip.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas is using guerrilla tactics and switching to cells of just two to five fighters, emerging from nowhere to attack from behind.
- Hamas is also reportedly using women and children to gather information and transport weapons during the Gaza war.
- The bodies of five hostages were recovered from a network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli army, which claims that Hamas terrorists are hiding in such tunnels and holding other hostages.
- The Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip continues to suffer from the effects of the ongoing fierce fighting, with around 70 people killed in new Israeli attacks, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities.
- The rising number of fallen Israeli soldiers has led to internal criticism that Israel is endangering its soldiers by reducing its use of force in response to US demands.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, Israeli security officials and Prime Minister Netanyahu deny any change in tactics, stating that a complete victory over Hamas is the only way to eliminate the group, return all hostages, and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.
Source: www.stern.de
