Israeli military leaders brought a small group of foreign journalists into northern Gaza on Saturday to witness the extent of the advance.
The wall of a school had shattered into rubble. The minaret of a mosque was tilting to one side. The roof of a beachfront villa had vanished, leaving a maroon sofa exposed to the elements.
Eight days later, the Israeli army has fought its way several miles to the south, reaching the outskirts of Gaza City, Hamas’ stronghold, and establishing control over the northern stretch of Gaza’s coastal road. Many buildings were wrecked, their walls sprayed with bullet holes. Some were most likely hit from the air during an Israeli bombing campaign that has killed more than 9000 people in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health authority, which is controlled by Hamas.Palestinian residents had fled south, abandoning the seafront to the Israeli soldiers and a few stray dogs and cats.An Israeli officer accompanying the journalists, Lieutenant Colonel Iddo Ben-Anat, projected an image of quiet confidence.
Nearby, groups of soldiers gathered around portable camping stoves, boiling sweet corn and carrots, chatting and joking. Several sported well-groomed moustaches, an incongruous nod to Movember, an annual global fundraising campaign in which men grow moustaches throughout November. A few minutes later, a roadside bomb exploded as the vehicle passed by, creating a brief fireball and sending sand toward the sky.
Palestinian journalists have not had such protection; dozens have been killed in airstrikes since the start of the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.Bloodier battles await Israelis in Gaza City, where Hamas fighters are entrenched in subterranean fortifications and are thought to be planning many more ambushes.
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