IOF admit four soldiers killed in confrontations south of Gaza Strip

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
18 Dec 2023 07:02
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Under the "permitted to publish" clause, the Israeli occupation force reveals that four more soldiers have been killed in confrontations with the Palestinian Resistance in the southern Gaza Strip.

Family mourns during a memorial service for dead Israeli occupation soldier in 'Tel Aviv', occupied Palestine, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. (AP)

The Israeli occupation army acknowledged that four soldiers were killed and another was seriously injured during the ground confrontations taking place south of the Gaza Strip.

Under the "permitted to publish" clause, Israeli media published the names of the dead soldier and it included IOF Sergeant Uriah Bayer of the elite Israeli Maglan unit who was seriously wounded earlier on December 14.

It is worth noting that the Israeli occupation's Maglan unit is a special combat reconnaissance unit that operates behind enemy lines.

Two other casualties were Sergeant Liav Alloush and Reserve Sergeant Eitan Na, who were fought in the ranks of the Duvdevan Unit of the Commando Brigade.

The fourth dead soldier was Reserve Sergeant Tal Veleva, a fighter in the Yahalom unit in the Combat Engineering Corps.

Earlier on Sunday, the IOF also acknowledged the death of two other IOF sergeants who were killed, one in northern Gaza and the other in southern Gaza.

'Israel's' ground invasion won't achieve goals: Israeli media

Multiple Israeli media reports on Sunday warned that a ground invasion alone will not suffice to achieve "Israel's" objectives in the ongoing war on Gaza.

The specified timeline for the operation, anticipated to last a few weeks, is not foreseen to result in significant accomplishments, such as defeating the Palestinian resistance or securing the release of captives.

Former Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Ofer Shelah wrote on the Institute for National Security Studies website of the Tel Aviv University recommending a shift in military strategy for the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) third stage of the war.

This includes gaining control of the northern part of the Gaza Strip, conducting airstrikes in the southern region while withdrawing ground forces, and closing the so-called Philadelphi Corridor. A proposed location for a ceasefire is deemed necessary.

Shelah underscored that maintaining the current fighting framework will not bring substantial changes in the situation in the coming weeks. He points out that the loss of soldiers and captives will be coupled with a sense of purposelessness.