The Israeli army is facing significant difficulties in confronting the Palestinian resistance across the Gaza Strip, Hebrew news outlet Channel 12 reported on 16 June.

Hamas’ Qassam Brigades and other groups are “still waging war in the Gaza Strip, and are capable of harming Israeli army soldiers,” military sources told the outlet.

The sources added that in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah particularly, the army has not been able to eliminate the Qassam Brigades or its military capabilities, and that Tel Aviv may end the operation there without achieving its goals.

“Israeli hopes for the battle in Rafah are misleading the public … Hamas has succeeded in rebuilding itself in the Gaza Strip,” Israeli commentator on Palestinian affairs, Ohad Hamo, told Channel 12.

The Hebrew media report coincided with eleven funerals of Israeli army soldiers across Israel on Sunday, who were killed in battles with the resistance across Gaza.

Most of the funerals were for the eight Israeli soldiers who were burned alive inside a Namer armored vehicle that was struck by the resistance in Rafah on Saturday.

Hebrew media described the attack as the deadliest in Gaza since January.

Days earlier, on 10 June, the Qassam Brigades announced that several Israeli soldiers were killed after its fighters detonated a booby-trapped building in Rafah with troops inside.

As the fighting rages, Tel Aviv’s enlistment crisis continues to worsen.

An Israeli army radio correspondent, Doron Kadosh, reported on Monday that the military is setting up a new division for reservists over the retirement age of 40 in order to meet the “urgent need for more troops.”

The new division is in “advance stages” and will call on Israelis who were previously exempt from serving, according to Kadosh.

The Israeli government has also supported a draft bill aimed at extending the reservist retirement age despite opposition from the public.

Due to “a very high volume of deaths and injuries as a result of the war, the IDF still needs a significant amount of manpower,” the draft bill reads.

“The extension of the temporary order is required, at this stage, to allow the IDF to keep in service the reserve officers who cannot be replaced.”