Israeli army says 2 more soldiers killed in Gaza

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Another two Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes in the Gaza Strip, raising Monday’s death toll to seven, the military said.

A military statement said a soldier from the Givati Brigade's reconnaissance unit and another from the army's Combat Engineering Corps were killed in fighting in the southern and northern Gaza Strip.

Another Israeli soldier was seriously injured in Gaza’s north, the army said.

Monday’s deaths brought to 129 the number of soldiers killed since Israel expanded its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27.

The Israeli army said that 461 soldiers have been killed and 1,831 others injured since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7.

​​​​​​​Israel's air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas have killed at least 19,453 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 52,286 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The war 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.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar