* Fourteen soldiers of the IDF were killed in heavy combat in Gaza over the weekend.
* Netanyahu seemingly grows unpopular in Israel with the loss of soldiers in a country where military service is compulsory.
* Hamas continue putting up a fight despite eleven weeks of brutal battle.
The Israel Defence Forces lost a fortnight of soldiers since the ground breaking offensive was launched in one of the bloodiest battles.The mounting death toll among the lsrael troops is likely an important factor in Israel support for the war which commenced with the Hamas storming of Southern Israel on October 7th killing 1200 and taking 240 upstages. However the war has been devastating for Gaza, killing over 2100 Palestinians and displacing over 80% of the country's 2.3 million people from tht territory.
Despite all the events, the lsraelis still stand strong behind the county's started goals which include crushing the Hamas and it's military activities, rescuing the remaining 129 captives and controlling the Gaza strip. The support has remained steady despite rising pressure against Israel's offensive and the souring Palestinian civilian death toll coming from the international community. But the growing number of soldiers deaths, 153 has caused discontent in the Jewish population which pursues a compulsory two- year military service for all the adult male nationals.
In addition there has been wide spread anger against Netanyahu's government which many criticise for failing to protect civilians on October 7th and pursuing policied that have over the years enabled Hamas to gain strength. However, the lsraeli Prime Minister has vowed to keep up the war on Hamas and many analysts continue to suspect that the war could rage on till mid February 2024 claiming the lives of more and more Palestinians who have paid in thousands for the 1200 Israelis who were killed on the day of the fateful attack. As per now, the civilian death toll keeps rising with about 78 Palestinians killed in the recent shooting that was carried out by the IDF on 28th December.
