Four out of the five IDF casualties in Gaza yesterday were from the Sayarets or the Special Forces, including two from Duvdevan. These were not the first IDF special forces casualties either since the war began. It goes to show how deadly and difficult urban warfare is even when you have an overwhelming superiority over your adversaries. Its an important perspective to have when we talk about our casualties in Kashmir. The hostile terrain, adversarial locals, well entrenched terrorists all make the jobs of our soldiers very difficult and dangerous. And unlike IDF that pulverizes every standing structure on the ground before moving in, IA takes great care to avoid collateral damage and rarely, if ever, uses air assets.
I hope IDF completes the encirclement of Khan Younis soon because it feels like they are up against a clock especially with no success in saving any hostages. There was a report there is now a new thrust from the east cutting through the edge of Raffah. For what its worth, despite the great tragedy of IDF shooting 3 hostages, the fact that those hostages were still in the north and alive shows that Hamas is no longer in full control of the situation.