By Mostafa Haboush
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army announced on Wednesday the death of one more officer in clashes with Palestinian resistance factions in the southern Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll since Oct. 7 to 465.
“Captain Linor Sion (32 years old), a combat officer in Battalion 363, Brigade Harel (10), was killed in a battle in the southern Gaza Strip,” the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted the army as saying.
This brings the total number of Israeli soldiers and officers killed since Oct. 7 to 465, including 133 during the ground incursion that commenced on Oct. 27, according to the broadcasting authority.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army also confirmed the death of an officer and a soldier in battles in the northern Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, on Tuesday evening, it was disclosed that 15 officers and soldiers were injured in the battles in Gaza within 24 hours, including six with serious injuries.
Since Oct. 27, the Israeli army has been conducting a ground incursion into the Gaza Strip, starting in the northern region before expanding to the central and southern areas, amid fierce resistance from Hamas and other Palestinian factions. Israeli officials have acknowledged that their army is paying a “heavy price” in Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul