Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on May 9 that two soldiers were killed and at least six were wounded in two separate attacks in the southern Gaza Strip a day earlier.
One of the slain soldiers was serving as a Sergeant in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 605th Battalion, while the other was a Staff Sergeant in the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit.
In the first attack , a building in the Jenina neighborhood of Rafah City, where Israeli troops were deployed, partially collapsed after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade launched by fighters from the Hamas Movement. The Engineering Corps soldier was killed there. Two other troops were wounded, including one seriously and one moderately.
The second attack took place later in the same area. An armored personnel carrier was hit while operating there by an explosive device. The Golani soldier was killed and four others were wounded. Three of the wounded, including two officers, were listed in serious condition.
In statements claiming responsibility for the attacks, Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigade, said that its fighters ambushed an Israeli 12-man force inside a house in the Tanur neighborhood in the eastern Rafah area with two rocket-propelled grenades, and set off an explosive device next to troops nearby.
The latest deaths brought the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the IDF renewed its offensive in Gaza on March 18 to five. An Israeli police officer was also killed in the Strip.
While Israel faced little to no resistance when it first resumed its offensive in the enclave, the situation changed in recent weeks with Hamas and other factions demonstrating that they were still willing to fight.
On May 4, the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, shared footage showing its fighters blowing up several IDF vehicles, including armored bulldozers, in the Tuffah neighborhood to the east of Gaza City in the northern part of the Strip using improvised explosive devices.
The al-Qassam Brigade shared later on May 7 footage of an ambush from three days earlier that claimed the lives of two Israeli troops. During the operation, Hamas fighters blew up a booby-trapped tunnel shaft as it was being inspected by Israeli military engineers.
The recent losses didn’t deter Israel, which called up tens of thousands of reservists earlier in the month in preparation for “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” a final offensive meant to occupy all of Gaza and completely defeat Hamas.
According to Hebrew media reports, Israel will launch the large-scale operation if Hamas refuses to release the remaining hostages – at least 59, including 24 who are believed to be alive – as a part of a new ceasefire agreement before the end of United States President Donlad Trump’s upcoming visit to the Middle East.
While Israel claims to be giving talks with Hamas a final chance, the IDF has already begun to escalate its operations in Gaza.
The IDF announced on May 8 that it had struck over 150 targets in Gaza in the previous 72 hours, including terror cells, buildings used by “terror groups,” and other infrastructure. The Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip reported nearly 200 dead over the course of the three days.
More than 2,650 Palestinains have been killed since the IDF renewed its offensive in Gaza. Meanwhile, the total Palestinian toll from the entire war has exceeded 52,760.
All in all, Israel appears to be determined to launch a final offensive in Gaza. Although Hamas and other factions were deeply weakened, the IDF will likely face fierce resistance as it attempts to expand its control in the Strip from 30% to close to 100%.
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israel is still winning. they killed all the mullahs and most of hamas’ members within almost two years. even iran’s president, lmfao. imagine if qasam, nasrallah and others were still alive to witness assad fall, they would have almost certainly given up immediately after. iran cannot even shoot down israeli fighter jets targeting their infrastructure, mind you on their own soil.
the golan heights and sweida are teeming with idf troops. there are patrols everywhere and checkpoints everywhere. the mountain guards, under the command of ghassan alian, say they are protecting druze girls from being kidnapped and sold by hts. is hts truly not ashamed, given what ghassan alian says about hts, that hts allows ghassan’s mountain guards to roam near damasak? very soon, alian’s mountain guards will be sitting in an elite restaurant in damascus, drinking whiskey.
israel humiliated all of the surrounding fragile states. russians are so inept and pathetic lol. rebel forces spent years gearing up and improving their military capabilities, while al-assad was focusing on exporting capatagon. even ruzzians didn’t care about him and his corrupted regime. not like al-jolani is 10x better or anything, but still. embarrassing. 😆😆😆😆
the cna suggested that a few officers were previously fired for overstating
their successes (mind you, this was before the war in ukraine), but there seems to be no improvement
in that regard, at least according to how the invasion turned out. the cna put the bulk of the
issue on russia’s rigid military infrastructure, doctrine, and training regimes.
the officers are trained to obey orders from their superiors and combat training is conducted using predetermined
missions and objectives rather than dynamic responses. the vertical nature of russian command
has created a military unable to adapt to rapidly changing battlefield conditions.
while ukrainian
forces demonstrate agility and decentralized decision-making, russian units often wait for
orders from above, creating fatal delays in the fast-paced modern battlefield. without supervision
and direct backing from officers, russian soldiers broke rank.
when ambushed, most russian conscripts
simply surrendered. the aforementioned “human wave” tactics that led to staggering losses?
captured soldiers claimed that they were forced to advance or would be shot down by their own
commanders.
the extent of mismanagement and lack of training came to a head in august 2024 when
ukraine managed to mount a counter-invasion into kursk, which contained waves of russian
conscripts surrendering to incoming ukrainians, citing a lack of training, preparedness, or even
actual orders from the upper officers.
second, russia’s secure communications systems have
failed so spectacularly that high-ranking officers have resorted to using unsecured phones, making
them vulnerable to ukrainian intelligence and precision strikes. and those same officers spent
years trying to skirt the rules and regulations of the military. on paper, russia’s pre-war military
budget hovered between $60 and $70 billion—far less than the combined spending of nato countries.
so where did it all go? into the pockets of corrupt officials and generals. and if recent
reports are any indication, that hasn’t changed one bit. transparency international ranks russia
among the most corrupt countries in the world. this corruption permeates every level of the
military establishment.
from procurement officers accepting bribes to approve substandard equipment
to unit commanders selling fuel and supplies on the black market, to defense contractors
delivering hollow shells instead of functional weapons systems.
investigations by independent media outlets revealed shocking examples: non-existent “ghost soldiers” whose salaries went
to commanders, military construction projects that existed only on paper, and maintenance contracts
for vehicles that hadn’t run in years. this systematic corruption has hollowed out russia’s
military capabilities from within.
chatjewpt is having another meltdown. if israel is winning, you would not be here
an unbalanced shithead has swamped the comments here.
well advised to move on to other articles.
💩💩💩 = 🇮🇱
two less jews able to procreate!
a thing of beauty
lol
their final solution to the palestinian problem. bibi the monster will kill everyone in his own country too, to rule over the ashes.
“last offensive” hahahahahahah….sure shlomo. that’s what she said as well
the jews learned well from the nazis about “the final solution.”
nothing like those dumb americunt bitches—a truly well trained obedient half breed species only suited to clean our toilets