Israel is fighting a difficult, complex and expensive war in Gaza, says senior army officer

The head of the Israeli army’s Southern Command, Major-General Yaron Finkelman, said on Tuesday that it is “waging a complex, difficult and costly war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.” Finkelman told journalists that the Hamas attack on 7 October hit Israel hard and that the events of that day hurt him personally.

The senior officer acknowledged that the Israeli army failed in its mission on 7 October. Since then, it has become clear that the goal of the war is to eliminate the Hamas movement and return the hostages held in Gaza.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing, said that it had confronted attempts by the Israeli army to enter the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the ground campaign launched by the occupation forces. Human losses and material damage have been inflicted on the occupation army, it insisted.

On Tuesday, for example, Al-Qassam said that its fighters destroyed eight Israeli tanks and a troop carrier. “They also bombarded enemy units penetrating into the Gaza Strip with large-calibre mortar shells.”

The ongoing Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip has reached its 32nd day, resulting in the killing of more than 10,300 Palestinians, more than half of whom were children and women. Civil Defence teams have been unable to free those trapped under the rubble due to the lack of heavy lifting equipment and machinery. Moreover, water, food, medicine, fuel and electricity have been cut off from the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

READ: UN official: Gaza is going through circumstances unprecedented in human history