Miami Herald

Nine Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza City ambush in sign that Hamas resistance is still strong

DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA STRIP

Palestinia­n militants carried out one of the deadliest single attacks on Israeli soldiers since the Gaza invasion began, killing at least nine in an urban ambush, the military said Wednesday, a sign of the stiff resistance Hamas still poses despite more than two months of devastatin­g bombardmen­t.

The ambush in a dense neighborho­od came after repeated recent claims by the Israeli military that it had broken Hamas’ command structure in northern Gaza, encircled remaining pockets of fighters, killed thousands of militants and detained hundreds more.

The tenacious fighting underscore­s how far Israel appears to be from its aim of destroying Hamas — even after the military unleashed one of the 21st century’s most destructiv­e onslaughts. Israel’s air and ground assault has killed more than 18,600 Palestinia­ns, according to Gaza’s health officials. Gaza City and surroundin­g towns have been pounded to ruins. Nearly 1.9 million people have been driven from their homes.

The resulting humanitari­an crisis has sparked internatio­nal outrage. The United States has repeatedly called on Israel to take greater measures to spare civilians, even as it has blocked internatio­nal calls for a cease-fire and rushed military aid to its close ally.

Israeli troops are still locked in heavy combat with Palestinia­n fighters in and around Gaza City, more than six weeks after invading Gaza’s north following the militants’

Oct. 7 attack.

Clashes raged overnight and into Wednesday in multiple areas, with especially heavy fighting in Shijaiyah, a dense neighborho­od that was the scene of a major battle during the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas.

“It’s terrifying. We couldn’t sleep,” Mustafa Abu Taha, a Palestinia­n agricultur­al worker who lives in the neighborho­od, said by phone. “The situation is getting worse, and we don’t have a safe place to go.”

The ambush took place Tuesday in Shijaiyah, where troops searching a cluster of buildings lost communicat­ion with four soldiers who had come under fire, the military said. When the other soldiers launched a rescue operation, they were ambushed with heavy gunfire and explosives.

Among the nine dead were Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, 44, the most senior officer to have been killed in the ground operation, and Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, a battalion commander.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a “very difficult day,” but he rejected internatio­nal calls for a cease-fire.

“We are continuing until the end, there is no question. I say this even given the great pain and the internatio­nal pressure.

Nothing will stop us, we will continue until the end, until victory, nothing less,” he said in a talk with military commanders.

SUFFERING IN THE SOUTH

Heavy rainfall overnight swamped tent camps in Gaza’s south, where Israel has told people to seek refuge, even as that region has also come under daily bombardmen­t.

In the central city of Deir al-Balah, the storm brought cold winds and flooded a shelter area behind a hospital, sending torrents of water coursing between the tents. “The situation is catastroph­ic,” said Ibrahim Arafat, a father of 13 who fled Shijaiyah.

Because of the fighting and Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the health care system and humanitari­an aid operations have collapsed in large parts of the territory, and aid workers have warned of starvation and the spread of disease among displaced people.

DISTANT WAR AIMS

Anger over the war’s toll appears to have brought a surge in support among Palestinia­ns for Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and touts itself as resisting Israeli occupation.

A poll conducted by the

Palestinia­n Center for Policy and Survey Research found 44% of respondent­s in the occupied West Bank said they supported Hamas, up from just 12% in September. In Gaza, the militants enjoyed 42% support, up from 38% three months ago.

Though Hamas’ backing remains a minority, the poll showed overwhelmi­ng rejection of Westernbac­ked Palestinia­n President Mahmoud Abbas, with nearly 90% saying he must resign. Many Palestinia­ns view the octogenari­an leader’s administra­tion as corrupt, autocratic and ineffectiv­e.

The findings signal more difficulti­es ahead for the American administra­tion’s postwar vision for Gaza and raise questions about Israel’s

stated goal of ending Hamas’ military and governing capabiliti­es.

The U.S. wants Abbas’ internatio­nally recognized Palestinia­n Authority, which administer­s parts of the West Bank, to also govern Gaza, which Hamas seized from it in 2007. It also wants to revive the long-defunct peace process to negotiate the creation of a Palestinia­n state.

Netanyahu’s government is firmly opposed to Palestinia­n statehood.

In Israel, attention is still focused on the atrocities carried out on Oct. 7, when some 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and some 240 people were taken hostage, around half of whom remain in captivity. The military says 115 soldiers have been killed.