Despite the losses, the will to show unwavering determination. Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his country was paying "a very heavy price for the war" after 14 soldiers were killed since Friday in fighting against the Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"We are paying a very heavy price for the war, but we have no choice but to continue fighting," the Israeli prime minister said at the opening of a meeting of his government after paying tribute to the slain soldiers, adding that "the war will be long."
The deaths of 14 soldiers in the Gaza Strip are one of the highest tolls recorded by the Israeli army in such a short period since the start of its ground offensive on 27 October.
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According to figures released by the army, 153 soldiers have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war, which began on October 7 with an unprecedented deadly attack by Hamas on Israeli soil.
"We will fight to the end"
On Friday, another Israeli soldier was killed in the north of the country by fire from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, bringing to eight the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the area since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, on October 7.
"Let me be clear: the war will be a long one. We will fight to the end – until the hostages are released, until Hamas is eliminated, and until we restore security in both the north and the south," Netanyahu added.
Some 250 people were also taken hostage in the Hamas attack on Israel and taken to the Gaza Strip. Of those hostages, 129, some of whom may have died, are still in Gaza, according to the army.