Topline
Fifteen Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza over the weekend in one of the deadliest bouts of fighting for Israeli troops since the war began, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces increasing international pressure—including from the U.S., where Israel’s efforts are increasingly unpopular—to take a more measured approach to its counterattacks against Hamas.
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the start of the Israeli war … [+]
Key Facts
All but one of the deaths were on Friday and Saturday in central and southern Gaza, the Israeli military said Sunday.
Four died in a missile attack on an Israeli military vehicle, while another soldier was killed in a battle with the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah in northern Israel, the Associated Press reported, citing Israeli Army Radio.
The deaths bring the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since Israel’s ground offensive began to 153, in addition to the more than 300 killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion, the military said.
The fighting rages on as President Joe Biden has faced mounting pressure to join a coalition of European countries calling for a permanent end to the violence, but Netanyahu has vowed to forge ahead with the war until Hamas is eliminated.
Biden, who has resisted calls to back a permanent cease-fire, has urged Netanyahu to engage in a more precise military strategy that spares civilian lives and commit to a civilian-governed Gaza at the end of the conflict.
Big Number
20,400. That’s roughly the number of Palestinians who have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. Approximately 1,200 people were killed when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and took an estimated 240 hostages.
Tangent
Support among U.S. voters for additional military aid to Israel has decreased from 54% last month to 45% last week, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday. The war has also become a political liability for Biden that could threaten his re-election chances, as 57% of respondents to a New York Times/Siena poll released last week said they disapprove of his handling of the conflict and 46% said they trust Trump to do a better job at managing the war, compared to 38% who said they trust Biden.
Key Background
Biden has become openly frustrated with Netanyahu in recent weeks amid a spiraling death toll and pressure from both citizens at home and the U.S.’s United Nations allies to call for a permanent cease-fire in the war. While Israelis are broadly supportive of Israel’s counteroffensive, according to polls, there have been some signs of discontent. Thousands of Israelis took to the streets last month to pressure Netanyahu to do more to negotiate the release of hostages, and protests erupted again earlier this month when the Israeli military mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages it said it mistook for Hamas fighters.
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