01 November 2023; MEMO: Israeli forces have paid a “heavy price” during their ground operation in the Gaza Strip despite making “significant” achievements, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Anadolu has reported. Gallant made his comments on Tuesday during a meeting at Palmachim Air Base in central Israel with troops of the Air Force’s elite Shaldag and 669 units, said Israeli Army Radio.
“The Israeli army uses forces on a large scale deep in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “There are battles against the forces operating there, and the results and achievements on the battlefield are very great. Unfortunately, there is also a cost in war, and in the last 24 hours, we have paid a heavy price.”
Gallant did not elaborate on what he meant. However, the Israeli army announced that 10 soldiers were killed and others were seriously wounded in battles in the northern Gaza Strip. With the latest deaths, the army’s death toll since the start of fighting on 7 October has risen to over 300.
Israel has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless air strikes since a surprise offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas on 7 October. The death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has climbed to 8,648, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said yesterday. “The victims include 3,542 children and 2,187 women, while 21,543 other people have been wounded,” ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra told a press conference in Gaza City.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected growing calls for a ceasefire, saying it would be a “surrender” to Hamas.
An Israeli blockade has cut fuel, electricity and water supplies to Gaza, and reduced aid deliveries are unable to satisfy the needs of over two million Palestinians effectively imprisoned in the enclave.
