Ten Israeli Troops Killed In A Gaza City Ambush

Israeli media said on Wednesday that an ambush in Gaza City claimed the lives of at least Ten Israeli soldiers.

One of the deadliest single battles since troops surged into the Strip claimed the lives of nine soldiers in the center of Shejaiya. In its onslaught against Hamas, the Israeli army has encountered fierce opposition that has sparked international indignation and infrequent US censure because of the thousands of civilians that have been killed.

While it has resisted international pleas for a ceasefire and hurriedly provided military support to its close friend, the administration of US President Joe Biden has frequently urged Israel to take more steps to protect Palestinian civilians.

US recommendations for a post-war strategy that would rekindle the long-stalled peace process with the Palestinians have been rejected by Israel.

Speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Mr. Biden claimed to have informed him that Israel was losing support from other countries as a result of its “indiscriminate bombing.”

He went on to say that Mr. Netanyahu ought to restructure his hard-right party-dominated administration. However, the offensive has broad backing among Israelis and is being led by a limited war cabinet that includes two politically moderate retired generals.

Since Hamas’s strike on October 7th, which started the war, about 18,400 Palestinians—mostly civilians—have died as a result of the air and ground offensive.

The IDF named those killed in the battle in Shejaiya as Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, 44, head of the Golani Brigade’s commander’s team, from Sde Ya’akov; Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, 35, the commander of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, from Almog; Maj. Roei Meldasi, 23, a company commander in the 13th Battalion, from Afula; Maj. Moshe Avram Bar On, 23, a company commander in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Ra’anana; Cpt. Liel Hayo, 22, a platoon commander in the 51st Battalion, from Shoham; Sgt. Achia Daskal, 19, a soldier in the 51st Battalion, from Haifa; Sgt. Eran Aloni, 19, of the 51st Battalion, from Ofakim. Maj. Ben Shelly, 26, a squad commander in the Israeli Air Force’s Unit 669, from Kidron; and Sgt. First Class Rom Hecht, 20, of Unit 669, from Givatayim.

With almost 2.3 million people forced to leave their homes, nearly 85% of Gaza’s population now lives like a moonscape in the northern part of the region. More than six weeks after the soldiers invaded the north, Israeli ground forces and Palestinian rebels are still engaged in fierce fighting in and around Gaza City.

Numerous localities saw fierce fighting throughout the night and into Wednesday, with Shijaiyah seeing particularly intense combat, according to locals.

“It’s terrifying. We couldn’t sleep,” Mustafa Abu Taha, a Palestinian agricultural worker who lives in the neighbourhood, said. “The situation is getting worse and we don’t have a safe place to go.”

Since Israel began its invasion of southern Gaza this month, the US has encouraged it to take greater steps to minimize civilian casualties, but the death toll has been rising at an alarming rate.

The Health Ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, claims that over 18,400 Palestinians have died. Their estimates from prior battles have corresponded with those from the UN and Israel.

The ministry reports that women and minors make up about two-thirds of the deceased, but it does not distinguish between combatant and civilian deaths.