Israeli troops morale worsens amid command's refusal of ceasefire: WSJ

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Wall Street Journal
28 Oct 2023 16:31
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The Wall Street Journal reports that morale among occupation soldiers is low, as their Air Force bombs civilians in Gaza.

Israeli occupation soldiers walk in Kibbutz "Kfar Azza" in the Gaza Envelope, occupied Palestine, October 27, 2023. (AFP)

Concerns over Israeli occupation forces grow as hundreds of thousands of reservists leave their daily normal lives with their families only to be positioned in the Gaza Envelope awaiting orders for invasion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

On Friday night, an incursion into the Gaza Strip was indeed launched by the Israeli occupation's command, however, the events did not translate into a full-scale invasion.

This was confirmed by Hamas, which announced that Palestinian Resistance fighters confronted and turned back occupation forces at 3 fronts on Saturday.

Indeed, the Israeli incursion on the Gaza Strip did not go according to plan dealing yet another mighty blow to the occupation's command following that of October 7, which saw the entire Gaza Division in disarray.

A former Israeli intelligence official, Avi Melamed, told WSJ that the offensive was not an all-out invasion of the Strip, "to the best of my impression."

"The message to Hamas is that you don’t have limitless space to maneuver or limitless time to maneuver," Melamed asserted as to why the aggression took place.

Unnamed Egyptian officials WSJ that the purpose of the expanded aggression could be to push Hamas to compromise during mediated negotiations with occupation.

'Israel' delays release of captives

Previously, negotiations came to a stop after "Israel" refused to greenlight fuel entry to the Gaza Strip, claiming that the Resistance would use the fuel for its operations, according to the report.

Furthermore, White House National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, asserted that the US seeks a temporary ceasefire, which would allow more aid into the Strip and the release of non-military captives.

Earlier, Hamas officials had expressed after a meeting with Russian officials the movement's determination to release non-military captives, however, it said that it would only do so under the right circumstances. Considering that "Israel" has only intensified since the aggression was launched, the Resistance cannot collect and transport the civilians to safe areas unless a ceasefire is implemented.

It is worth noting that although the US said it is pushing for a ceasefire, it voted against a resolution with that aim during a meeting of the UN General Assembly.

The report also shed light on the experience of US citizen Zaeba Saath and her family who experienced one of the worst nights of aggression in the Gaza Strip. "Israel" deliberately cut off communications in the Gaza Strip before unleashing hell on civilians.

Saath said the downed Internet service severed connection to other family members and friends in the Strip as she, her father, brother, and sister waited out Israeli bombs in Rafah.

"Bombs everywhere right now, we don’t know where they are bombing, a lot of martyrs on the streets. We might be next martyrs," Saath said as quoted by WSJ.