8 more Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza battles: Army

By Ikram Kouachi

ANKARA (AA) — At least eight more Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the Israeli army said on Sunday.

The Israeli army said in a statement that Master Sgt. Nadav Issachar Farhi, 30, and Master Sgt. Eliyahu Meir Ohana, 28, were among four of those killed in the central Gaza Strip, while four others were killed in the south of the enclave.

Meanwhile, six other soldiers were seriously injured, the Israeli army added.

The number of Israeli officers and soldiers killed since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7 climbed to 484.

Since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip, killing at least 20,258 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 53,688 others, according to health authorities in the enclave. The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.