The Israeli newspaper “Times of Israel” reported on Saturday that the Israeli army announced the deaths of five of its soldiers during battles in the Gaza Strip on Friday and Saturday, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since the start of the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip to 144.
The Israeli army also stated that five other soldiers were seriously wounded in the battles, as reported by the Arab World News Agency.
In contrast, more than 200 Palestinians were killed in the past twenty-four hours due to the continuous Israeli army shelling and ground operations in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Hamas movement.
After nearly three months of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian movement, Hamas announced the discovery of the bodies of dozens of Palestinians, claiming that some of them were “executed” during an Israeli ground operation in Jabalia in northern Gaza.
The war erupted following an unprecedented attack by Hamas fighters who breached the boundaries and intensity of hostilities between Gaza and southern Israel, leading to the deaths of approximately 1,140 Israelis and the abduction of 250 individuals.
Currently, 129 of them remain detained in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli authorities.
The retaliatory Israeli bombardment by land, sea, and air resulted in the deaths of 20,258 people in Gaza, predominantly women and children, with over 53,000 others injured, according to the Ministry of Health affiliated with Hamas.
