Israeli Troops Continue To Push Operations Closer To Inside Of Gaza City

I've been waiting and hoping that Bill Roggio from The Long War Journal would finally start to wade into the IDF operation going on in Gaza and my wishes came true this morning as he has a detailed post up of the latest troop advances of the IDF - including his report that the push has begun into the edges of Gaza City. Here's some of the excerpts:

Troops enter built-up neighborhoods in the south and east. Heavy fighting reported in Khan Younis, Beit Lahiya, and Jabaliya. Iran threatens to cut off Hamas funding if cease-fire implemented.
Israeli troops have pushed into outlying neighborhoods in Gaza City, possibly signaling the onset of a new phase in the ground operation launched 17 days ago. Although in the first two days of the ground offensive, the Israeli military had surrounded Gaza City, so far Israeli troops have not entered the dense urban sprawl of the Gaza strip cities.

"Hundreds of people were killed in the various combat sectors," the officer told the news agency. "Some Hamas companies and battalions were simply wiped out. We also see cases of desertions and unauthorized leaves, while some terror activists are scared to undertake moves that would jeopardize them vis-à-vis IDF troops."
Hamas is estimated to have between 15,000 and 20,000 armed fighters in the Gaza Strip.

And now for one of the best parts of the article. Take a look at this statement by one of Fatah's officials regarding the leader of Hamas in Syria:

But not all Palestinians are eager to continue the fighting. The spokesman for Fatah, the political party of President Mahmood Abbas, exposed the deep divisions between the rival Palestinian parties when he mocked Mashal.
"Khaled Mashal was talking [on Al-Jazeera] as if the Hamas tanks were surrounding Tel Aviv," he said. "It's obvious that Mashal has never been to the Gaza Strip and doesn't know what he's talking about."

One thing I have noticed about this whole IDF operation is the fact that in nearly a week and a half of this ground operation in Gaza, the IDF has only lost 13 soldiers and quite frankly, a good chunk of those were lost in a friendly fire incident. Before Israel moved into Gaza, Hamas offered up that they would "surpise" the IDF and it would be a "cemetary" for IDF forces. Yeah right. Now, granted...if the IDF does move into the inner city of Gaza City that casualty number will definitely go up but so far it has been amazing how few the number has been.

Israeli troops probe urban areas in Gaza City

Troops enter built-up neighborhoods in the south and east. Heavy fighting reported in Khan Younis, Beit Lahiya, and Jabaliya. Iran threatens to cut off Hamas funding if cease-fire implemented.
Israeli troops have pushed into outlying neighborhoods in Gaza City, possibly signaling the onset of a new phase in the ground operation launched 17 days ago. Although in the first two days of the ground offensive, the Israeli military had surrounded Gaza City, so far Israeli troops have not entered the dense urban sprawl of the Gaza strip cities.
Now hundreds of Israeli troops have advanced several blocks into the neighborhoods of Zaytoun, Sheikh Ajleen, Tuffah, Tal el Hawa, Shejaeya, and Zeitun on the southern and eastern edge of Gaza City, according to reports..
Heavy fighting has also been reported in Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya, northeast of Gaza City.
Israeli troops, backed by air and artillery, also moved into the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis; the operation appears to have been a raid.
Thousand of reserve troops that were called up at the beginning of the operation have entered the fight in Gaza. Additional reserve forces are in training to conduct operations for urban fighting.
No Israeli casualties have been reported during Monday's move into Gaza or Khan Younis. And in the 17 days of fighting so far, only 13 Israeli soldiers have been killed, compared to more than 350 Hamas fighters. Palestinian officials in Gaza claim an estimated 600 civilians have been killed.
Hamas has suffered significant casualties in some areas, a senior Israeli defense official told Ynet News.
"Hundreds of people were killed in the various combat sectors," the officer told the news agency. "Some Hamas companies and battalions were simply wiped out. We also see cases of desertions and unauthorized leaves, while some terror activists are scared to undertake moves that would jeopardize them vis-à-vis IDF troops."
Hamas is estimated to have between 15,000 and 20,000 armed fighters in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Defense Force has made leaders of Hamas' military and rocket and mortar teams a priority target. The leader of Hamas' rocket teams in Gaza City was killed on Jan 10, while the Israeli Air Force destroyed the home of the leader of Hamas' military wing in an air strike.
Israeli commanders said rockets fired from Gaza have been reduced by 50 percent since the operation began. But Hamas has been able to launch salvos despite ground and air operations. Hamas fired more than 21 rockets into Israel today.