Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — The Israel Army has been struggling in ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

The Army has reported the death of at least 15 soldiers in a 24-hour period in the Gaza Strip. Thirteen of the soldiers, including a senior officer, were killed in heavy fighting with Hamas on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City, called Sejaiyeh, on July 20.

“As we moved into Sejaiyeh we were met by anti-tank missiles, RPGs, heavy, extensive weapons fire at the forces from the houses, from the surrounding buildings,” Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said.

Military sources said seven of the soldiers were killed when an anti-tank missile struck a 1960s-era armored personnel vehicle. They said another soldier was killed when an active protection system called Trophy fired a projectile to stop an incoming enemy rocket.

“They [soldiers] took part in difficult and complex battles,” Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said.

The sources said Sejaiyeh was deemed a major Hamas military stronghold in the Gaza Strip. They said the eastern neighborhood contained attack tunnels, rocket launchers and weapons production facilities.

“The majority of rockets that have been targeted at the Tel Aviv area, the heart of Israel, have been launched from Sejaiyeh,” a source said.

The Israeli military said it discovered and destroyed six tunnels that spanned Gaza and Israel. One of the tunnels, found in the southern Gaza Strip and 1.2 kilometers long, was said to have contained four access points
that served Hamas attacks on infantry units.

On July 21, at least 10 Palestinians fighters were killed as they emerged from two tunnel that reached into Israel. Officials acknowledged that for more than a year the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to act on intelligence of Hamas’ tunnel campaign.

“I estimate that within two or three days the major part of the tunnels will have been destroyed,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said.

Officials said Israel has been under international pressure to soon end the invasion of the Gaza Strip. They ruled out either the return of Israeli rule over the Gaza Strip or the destruction of Hamas, said to have decreased
rocket fire over the last 48 hours.

“Despite the calls from the political Right in Israel, the demise of Hamas rule in Gaza is not an attainable military objective,” Efraim Inbar, a leading strategist and deemed close to Netanyahu, said. “Hamas is well-rooted in Palestinian society, particularly in Gaza.”

  15 Israeli soldiers killed as ground offensive reaches key city from which most rockets fired, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gaza Strip, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, Moshe Ya’alon