The Israeli army expanded its military operation to invade the city of Rafah, and transferred more of its forces to the city, where the “Hanahal” brigade entered the city last night, bringing the number of brigades there to five, namely “Hanahal”, “Givati”, 401, 12, and Commando, according to what Israeli Army Radio reported. today is Wednesday.

According to Israeli Army Radio, there are currently ten brigades in the Gaza Strip, 5 of which are in Rafah, 3 in Jabalia, and two brigades in the center of the Strip. This is the largest deployment of the Israeli army in the Strip in 4 months.

Major Israeli hospitals reported a significant increase in the number of wounded soldiers transferred to them, since the beginning of the military operation in Rafah and the return of Israeli forces to the center and north of the Gaza Strip, after they had withdrawn from these two areas, and Hamas fighters returned to appear there in recent weeks, where they received... These hospitals include approximately 100 soldiers, according to what Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported today.

Israeli soldiers who are seriously injured are transferred to Barzilai and Assuta hospitals in Ashdod, as they are the closest to the Gaza Strip, while most of the injured are transferred to major hospitals in central Israel and Jerusalem.

According to Israeli army data, 3,543 soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the war on Gaza. The injuries of 546 soldiers are described as serious, and the injuries of the rest are moderate to minor.

1,752 soldiers were injured, including 349 in serious condition, since the beginning of the ground invasion of the Strip, in late October, according to the army. Army data added that 714 soldiers were injured in “operational incidents.”

The newspaper quoted the director of the trauma and urgent surgeries unit at Sheba Hospital, Dr. Yoram Klein, as saying, “Since the fighting has returned to become more intense, the number of helicopters landing with us has increased from one helicopter per week to one or two helicopters per day.” Most of the casualties were the result of anti-tank shells or mine explosions.”

He added, "Since the resumption of the ground maneuver, I do not remember seeing injuries as a result of gunfire, but we definitely see an increase in the number of injured soldiers. These injuries currently are not necessarily different, and there is no difference between them and the injuries at the beginning of the maneuver."

Major hospitals are preparing to transfer patients and injured soldiers to underground shelters, in anticipation of the escalation of the fighting against Hezbollah and the expansion of the range of missiles launched from Lebanon, which are currently confined to northern Israel.

Klein said that an escalation against Hezbollah “means for us readiness to deal with intense and very large missile launches, and therefore there is a plan to go underground in the hospital and to fully protected places.”

We should not enter into a state of reassurance because Lebanon is another game at all levels, including evacuating wounded people from the field and speeding up the evacuation.”

Director of the Trauma and Urgent Surgeries Unit at Ichilov Hospital, Dr. Eyal Hashafia, said, “If the fighting in Rafah escalates, (soldiers) injured in Rafah will be evacuated to Soroka Hospital (in Beersheba), while hospitals in central Israel will receive large numbers of seriously wounded people.”