According to a media report, 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. This shows how difficult it is for Israel to eliminate Hamas as intended, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. 14 Israeli soldiers were killed on Christmas weekend alone. Meanwhile, Pope Francis called for peace at Christmas mass in Rome.
More than 150 Israeli soldiers have already died
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s war cabinet wants to discuss a proposal from Egypt to end the war this Monday. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the day before that the fight would continue until there was a complete victory over Hamas. The Times of Israel reported that 156 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ground offensive began at the end of October. According to a military estimate, Israel claims to have killed around 7,860 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 fatalities recorded so far in the Gaza Strip. The military’s information could not initially be independently verified. Around 70 people have been killed in new Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. Several families in the refugee district of Al-Maghasi are affected. This, too, could not be independently verified. Israel’s army wanted to investigate the reports.
Army: Bodies of hostages recovered
According to them, the bodies of five of the hostages were recovered from a network of tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip. The remains of the men and women abducted from Israel on October 7th were found in a very extensive and deep tunnel system in the area of the refugee district of Jabalia, it was said. According to Israel, a number of Hamas terrorists are hiding in such tunnels and are also holding other Israeli hostages there.
The terrorists also use the underground routes to appear out of nowhere and attack from behind. Hamas is now attacking with cells consisting of only two to five fighters before they dive back into the tunnels, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing a senior Israeli officer.
Report: Hamas uses women and children
They also operated from civilian refuges and used women and children to collect information and transport weapons, it was said. Hamas also stores weapons in hundreds of empty houses. This allows their fighters to move freely, pose as civilians and grab their weapons at the last moment before an attack.
The increasing 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 the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel, Netanyahu said on Sunday.
Report: Egypt proposes plan to end war
The Saudi TV channel Ashark News reported on the same day, citing informed sources, that Egypt’s proposal envisages ending the war in several stages. The first phase would therefore be about enforcing a ceasefire lasting at least two weeks. During this time, 40 hostages were to be released. In return, Israel would release 120 Palestinian prisoners. After that, there would be a Palestinian dialogue 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 people would be allowed to return to their homes.
What will be important on Monday
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s war cabinet wants to 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 ongoing heavy fighting.
