Israel has confirmed that 212 people are being held hostage in Gaza, the military spokesperson said on October 22, adding that Israeli strikes overnight killed dozens of Palestinian fighters, including the deputy chief of Hamas rocket forces.
On the northern front, Israel has been attacking fighters trying to fire missiles in across the Lebanese border and struck a site in Lebanon from where a missile was fired at an Israeli aircraft, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing.
During the briefing, Hagari has also renewed the call for residents of the Gaza strip to move south, to prevent Hamas from using them as “human shields.”
Israel has pounded Gaza with air strikes since the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israeli soil on Oct. 7. Israel has massed troops and armour on the border with Gaza ahead of an expected land incursion.
(Inputs from Reuters)