Israeli forces are moving slowly in their ground offensive in Gaza in part to keep open the possibility of drawing Hamas militants to negotiate the release of more than 200 hostages, military specialists consulted by Reuters said.
An Israeli soldier holds a weapon from behind a military vehicle in a location given as Gaza, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on October 30, 2023.
By moving slowly, the army also hoped to secure Israeli forces' flanks and bait Hamas fighters to come out of the tunnels or denser urban areas and engage Israeli forces in open areas where they could be more easily killed, said a former senior commander who declined to be named. In the three weeks since the Hamas attack, Israeli air strikes have pulverized large swathes of Gaza, killing more than 8,000 people including more than 3,000 children, according to thehave said that a ceasefire is required in order to release civilian hostages, who Israel says include people with passports from 25 different countries.
The government has given the Israeli military two objectives - to dismantle Hamas, including its infrastructure and operational capabilities, and to bring home the hostages, chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. Hagari said more infantry and armoured forces backed by artillery and combat engineers had been sent in and were manoeuvring on the ground and engaging Hamas fighters. He declined to confirm any troop locations.
On Oct 29, Israeli forces operating adjacent to the Erez crossing "identified a number of terrorists exiting the shaft of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip". Israeli military forces are aware of the dangers with heavily built up areas in Gaza and the dangers of sending in broad forces.
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