Current and former officials in Israel made statements on Sunday about the difficulties their army faces in its ground operations in the Gaza Strip, especially after it suffered losses described as the heaviest since the beginning of the war.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, “Let us stop the disagreements and arguments in this difficult war,” stressing at the same time that “there is no escape from this war to eliminate Hamas.”
In the same context, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said, “Hamas cannot be destroyed without deaths among our ranks.”
This came after the Israeli occupation army acknowledged, since Saturday evening, the killing of 15 soldiers and officers whose names were allowed to be published, as part of what was described in Israel as the cruelest weekend since the start of the war, as 44 soldiers and officers were also injured, including 10 in serious condition.
This brings the total number of Israeli army deaths since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the war on Gaza to 487 soldiers and officers, including 160 killed since the start of the ground operation.
The Israeli military spokesman announced the discovery of what he described as a strategic tunnel network in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, which served as the northern headquarters of the Hamas movement, according to his claim. He added that during the operation, the army found the bodies of 5 Israeli prisoners, including 3 soldiers.
The spokesman said that the army is engaged in a “complex” fight and is trying to deepen its operations in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, pointing to its high population density.
On the other hand, former head of the Israeli National Security Council, General Giora Eiland, spoke to the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal about the difficulty of destroying the capabilities of the Hamas movement.
Eiland said, “Removing the tunnels is impossible if Israel withdraws its forces from Hamas strongholds.”
He also pointed to the change in popular mood, saying that “those Israelis who initially supported the elimination of Hamas are now fed up.”
The same newspaper quoted Israeli military analysts that Hamas’s network of deep tunnels impedes Israel’s control over Gaza territory.