166 Gazans, 14 Israeli soldiers die in bloody weekend combat

Tel Aviv, December 24

At least 166 Palestinians and 14 Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, in some of the bloodiest days of battle since the start of the ground offensive and a sign that Hamas is still putting up a fight despite weeks of brutal war.

The mounting death toll among Israeli troops is likely to play an important factor in Israeli public support for the war, which was sparked when Hamas-led militants stormed communities in southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostage. The war has devastated parts of the Gaza Strip, killed roughly 20,400 Palestinians and displaced nearly 85 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said 166 people were killed in the coastal enclave over the past day. Israelis still stand firmly behind the country’s stated goals of crushing Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and releasing the remaining 129 captives. That support has stayed mostly steady despite rising international pressure against Israel’s offensive and the soaring toll and unprecedented suffering among Palestinians.

But the growing number of dead soldiers could undermine that support. Soldiers’ deaths are a sensitive and emotional topic in Israel, a country with compulsory military service for most Jews.

The names of fallen soldiers are announced at the top of hourly newscasts, and in a small country of about 9 million people, virtually every family knows a relative, friend or co-worker who has lost a family member in war.

The 14 Israeli soldiers killed on Friday and Saturday died in battles in central and southern Gaza, an indication of how Hamas is still putting up tough resistance against advancing Israeli troops, even as Israel claims to have dealt a serious blow to the militant group. — AP

‘No US pressure, israel a sovereign state’

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed reports that the US had convinced Israel not to expand its military activity during a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. “I have seen false publications... this is not true. Israel is a sovereign state. Our decisions in the war are based on our operational considerations,” he said.

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