The current round of Palestine-Israel conflict has claimed the lives of more than10,800 people on both sides, at least 9,200 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis, as of Friday, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.
The Gaza-based health authority said on Friday that the current round of conflict had killed 9,257 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since it broke out on Oct 7.
As reported by Palestine News Agency citing data from the Palestinian health ministry, the recent clashes with the Israeli army have resulted in the deaths of 144 people in the West Bank.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have died in the current round of fighting, according to the Israeli Ministry of Health.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday continued its air strikes in the Gaza Strip. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Friday that they had surrounded Gaza City by land, sea and air. A video clip released by the IDF on the same day showed that the Israeli army had discovered and destroyed several underground tunnels built by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers advanced in columns, under the cover of the air force and with armored bulldozers clearing the way, in order to avoid possible ambushes and explosive devices set up by Hamas armed forces along the roads.
Hamas armed forces have killed more than 20 Israeli soldiers in the past few days of ground fighting. According to a statement issued by Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades on Friday, it launched a raid on an Israeli army squad in the northwest Gaza Strip, killing four Israeli soldiers. Although the Israeli army has not yet confirmed it, Hamas armed forces’ raids through underground tunnels have caused considerable trouble to the Israeli army.
At the same time, Hamas continued to fire rockets towards different locations in Israel, as air defense sirens were still sounded across a wide range of areas in Israel, especial in the northern and central areas.
Sderot, an Israeli city closest to the country’s border with the Gaza Strip, is among areas most exposed to rocket attacks. In the first week of the current round of conflict, a total of nearly 30,000 local residents have been evacuated by the Israeli government.
Israeli army set up a checkpoint on a trunk road in Sderot, which directly leads to the Gaza Strip, to impose strict restrictions and inspections on vehicles passing by.
(Reuters)