By Abdelraouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli military data revealed that 29 soldiers were killed in "friendly fire and operational incidents" during the ground offensive in Gaza since Oct. 27, Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation KAN reported on Monday.
Among the deaths, 18 soldiers were killed in friendly fire, two with gunfire (without further details), and nine in ammunition and weapons incidents or vehicular collisions, KAN reported.
According to military figures, at least 506 soldiers have been killed since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7 and 172 since the beginning of the ground offensive on Oct. 27.
Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 21,822 Palestinians have since been killed and 56,451 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio