![Israel's President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv on December 14, 2023 [AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1848352470-scaled-e1703585261896.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited troops stationed in the buffer zone along the land borders with the Gaza Strip on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.
Herzog published a photo on his X account showing him writing “We trust you” in Hebrew on an artillery shell in a show of support for their efforts.
“I would like to thank you. It is not easy at all, and it is not to be taken for granted that people have been here for over two months,” he told the soldiers.
He added that the soldiers must receive full support while they are on the front lines and once they return from duty.
On 19 December, the Israeli army released photos of shells with the names of Arab and foreign activists known for their criticism of Israel written on them.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surged to 20,674, the Health Ministry in the territory said yesterday.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra also said that 54,536 people had been injured in the months-long offensive.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory’s housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely populated enclave amid acute shortages of food and clean water.