By Abdel Rauf Arnaut
JERUSALEM (AA) – As the Israeli army pressed ahead with its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media expect “more difficult days” for the army in its fight against Hamas in the blockaded enclave.
“We are still far from breaking Hamas, and there will be more difficult days,” Tamir Hayman, the former head of the army’s Military Intelligence Directorate, said in a report published by Israeli Channel 12.
At least 20 Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Hamas fighters inside the Gaza Strip since Tuesday, according to the army.
“We lost some of the best people of this country,” Hayman said of the Israeli fatalities in the Gaza war.
Israeli Channel 12 said the more the Israeli forces advance in Gaza, the more the fight intensifies.
According to the broadcaster, the Israeli army “is working to tighten the noose on Gaza City where Hamas leadership is believed to be located.”
The Israeli Walla news website said the army began the process of removing mines and explosive devices and destroying Hamas’ tunnel network.
According to the news portal, the army’s engineering forces are using robots to destroy the underground tunnels and detonate any booby traps installed by Hamas to hinder the advancing Israeli forces.
The report suggested that Israeli forces had already destroyed 100 tunnels.
“As the Gaza war broke out, experienced bulldozer drivers from reserve soldiers in the Engineering Corps were recruited to drive large bulldozers to reinforce soldiers taking part in ground battles,” Walla said.
The bulldozers remove booby traps and roadside bombs and erect barriers to protect the soldiers.
"After the commander of the Israeli army's Southern Command, Yaron Finkelman, gave the order to enter the Gaza Strip by land, the bulldozer crews were the first to move to prepare the way for the forces,” Walla said.
“Every bulldozer driver knows that he and those with him are the first target for Hamas’ anti-tank shells. They are the first to face ambushes, small arms fire, explosive devices or mines,” the news website said, citing an unnamed reservist army officer.
The Israeli officer confirmed that during the ground operation, "dozens of anti-tank missiles were fired at the bulldozers, in addition to gunfire from Palestinian militants."
The bulldozer drivers in the Israeli army, he said, “know that they have firepower standing by their side at every moment, from the air and from the ground, to protect them.”
This week, the Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
Nearly 10,600 people have been killed in the conflict, including 9,061 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.
Besides the large number of casualties and displacement, basic supplies are running low for the 2.3 million residents in Gaza due to the Israeli siege.
*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat