Israeli army raises death toll from conflict with Hamas to 286

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - The Israeli army on Sunday announced that the army's death toll since the recent outbreak of fighting with the Palestinian Hamas group has risen to 286.

According to the Times of Israel website, the Israeli army released the names of seven more soldiers killed in the fighting over the past week.

On an almost daily basis, the Israeli army releases new names of its personnel killed in ongoing fighting with Palestinian groups in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel’s general death toll so far stands at 1,300 while the number of confirmed injured Israelis exceeds 3,400.

Last weekend, Israeli forces launched a sustained military campaign on the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel – a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

That response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering more than 1 million Gazans in the northern strip to evacuate to the south within 24 hours.