2 more Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza Strip battles

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli army announced on Monday that two more soldiers were killed in fresh clashes with Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll since Oct. 7 to 489.

A military statement said that Netai Maisels, 30, from the 14th Armored Brigade, and Rani Tameer, 20, from the 50th Battalion of the Nahal Brigade, were killed in fighting in the northern Palestinian territory.

This brings the total number of Israeli soldiers and officers killed since Oct. 7 to 489.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 20,424 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,036 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

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 shortages of food and clean water.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio