Why Israel won’t stop fighting despite the mounting losses
Nine Israeli soldiers were killed in a single attack in northern Gaza on Tuesday, an incident that was among the deadliest for Israeli forces since the beginning of their ground operation on October 27.
The news sent shockwaves through Israel, where many are still grieving from the October 7 terror attack by Hamas. But analysts say it is unlikely the incident will weaken the support for the war among the Israeli public. The stakes, they say, are way too high.
According to the official count, 116 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers have been killed in Gaza combat since the start of the invasion.
The number is dwarfed by the enormous death toll among Palestinians in Gaza. According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, 18,412 had been killed as of Tuesday. CNN cannot independently verify that number, but the IDF said it has struck more than 22,000 targets in Gaza since the beginning of the war.
“Right now, for the Israeli public, the (threat from) Hamas’ military capabilities is such that we’re willing to go to a relatively high number (of casualties) to destroy it,” security expert and retired IDF Colonel Miri Eisin told CNN.
Eisin’s husband and three children are all currently serving in the IDF. “This doesn’t mean I want to sacrifice my children,” she said.
“No, it means that I don’t know how I can live here unless we destroy Hamas.”
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