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‘The Maccabees of Our Day’: Israel Mourns 10 Soldiers, Including Colonel, Killed in Fierce Gaza Fighting
Israeli soldiers operate at the Shajaiya district of Gaza city amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, Dec. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Yossi Zeliger
Ten soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including high-ranking officers, were killed fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the Israeli army said on Wednesday.
Nine of the soldiers died while engaged in combat in the northern Gaza Strip village of Shejaiya, known as a stronghold of the Hamas terror group. It was one of the deadliest single encounters since Israeli troops launched their ground campaign into Gaza in October.
The soldiers were engaging in search operations when they entered buildings that they believed to be abandoned, only to find a tunnel inside. Upon entering the building, they were ambushed with grenades and gunfire, which led to four IDF deaths immediately.
Between the gun battle and grenades flying, another 5 soldiers were killed, including two from the elite 669 unit, considered one of the best search and rescue military units in the world.
Among the dead was Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, 44, head of the Golani Brigade’s commander’s team. He was the most senior IDF officer to have been killed in the ground offensive against Hamas.
Staff Sgt. Oriya Yaakov, 19, was killed in a separate incident in northern Gaza.
“The Maccabees of our day,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog tweeted in reference to the soldiers killed on Tuesday. “The joy of Hanukkah this year is more difficult than ever, when the candles of the menorah and the candles of remembrance mingle with each other, with sorrow and grief, but no less — with immense pride and faith in the righteousness of the path.”
Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, began last Thursday and is set to end on Friday night. It marks the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE, after a small group of Jewish fighters known as the Maccabees liberated the land from oppressive foreign forces.
“Ten names were added today to our bereaved tombstone in the difficult and just war against the cruel enemy,” Herzog added. “Ten commanders and fighters, the best of the best, heroes among heroes who fell in the battle for the defense of the people and the homeland, and left a huge void in their image — in the hearts of all of us.”
The Israeli president concluded by saying that the Jewish state “swears to fulfill their will: the eternity of Israel and the unity of Israel.” He also quoted the Bible: “And I heard every candle and candle, calling to me: ‘Arise, awake, living people and arise!’”
War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz also tweeted about the incident, saying, “Every one who falls is a scar on the entire State of Israel, and every such scar is a reminder of the heroism of our warriors, and of the need to be worthy as a society of their sacrifice.”
Wednesday’s announcement by Israel brought the Israeli death toll in the ground offensive to 115, not including the roughly 300 soldiers and police murdered during Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel that launched the current conflict. An additional 900 civilians were killed during the onslaught.
The post ‘The Maccabees of Our Day’: Israel Mourns 10 Soldiers, Including Colonel, Killed in Fierce Gaza Fighting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.