On the approach to this rural village, the road is lined with the lifeless forms of militants scattered amidst the charred remains of cars. The once pristine stucco homes, with their carefully maintained facades, now display shattered walls and doors flung wide open. Among the ruins, bags containing the remains of residents await the somber process of identification, and the pungent odor of death hangs heavily in the hot afternoon air.
Israel’s military finds itself grappling with this grim tableau as it contends with a sweeping assault initiated by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. The ongoing conflict has resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives in Israel and subjected the neighboring Palestinian enclave to relentless Israeli airstrikes.
Maj. Gen. Itai Veruv, a 39-year veteran of the Israeli army who led the operation to reclaim the village from militants, stood amidst the devastation and somberly commented on the heart-wrenching scenes. He emphasized that this was more than just a battlefield; it was a massacre.
The Israeli military allowed a group of journalists, including an Associated Press correspondent, to tour the village a day after it was retaken, contending that it had been held by approximately 70 Hamas fighters.
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