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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged on September 23 that an officer was killed while taking part in the major offensive against Hamas in Gaza City.
A Hamas operative fired a rocket-propelled grenade at one of the 77th Battalion’s tanks, injuring the officer who was serving as a company commander, according to an initial military probe, which said that the officer was taken to a hospital, where his condition worsened until he succumbed to his injuries.
The officer was the first Israeli service member to be killed in the IDF’s new offensive in Gaza City, codenamed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots B,” which began on September 15, although right after the beginning of the offensive four troops were killed by a roadside bomb in the area of Rafah in the southern part of the Strip.
Separately, the IDF announced that it had carried out a strike against Hamas operatives who it said were planting bombs intended to target troops in Gaza City.
The cell was identified by troops of the 162nd Division, who then called in an Israeli Air Force drone to strike the operatives, according to the military.
Three divisions of the IDF, the 162nd, 98th and 36th, are currently operating in Gaza City. The military estimates that 640,000 out of one million Palestinians who were living there have already left.
According to Al-Jazeera, Israeli strikes killed 36 Palestinians across the Strip during the day. It is unclear how many of them were killed in Gaza City.
Israel says that its offensive in Gaza City is meant to force Hamas to arm, release all of the remaining hostages and leave the Strip.
Talks on a ceasefire appear to be still on halt. However, the recent recognition of the Palestinian state by several Western countries, including the United Kingdom and France, appear to have strengthened the stance of Hamas.
In a statement, Hamas applauded the countries for recognizing a Palestinian state and for calling for concrete steps to end the war in Gaza.
The group, however, stressed that weapons of the resistance are a national right anchored by all international laws and treaties, until the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem.”
This stance will likely be met with more escalation from Israel. Still, it is highly unlikely that Hamas will make any more concessions even if Gaza City was completely occupied by the IDF.
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the fog of war that surrounds the gaza death camp always ignores the suffering of the palestinians living in. do many wish that they could defend themselves. but all families have lost relatives to death. israel created isis and hamas. propaganda does not change this.
the videos above do not prove any existence of hamas. israeli bombs and drone strikes noted. all the sheeple get is more hasbara rhetoric
gaza will be cleansed…completely…death to hamas!!!
israel is a hostile entity that has infiltrated the united states and other nations for its continued use. it can not survive alone.
seig heil!