4 More Israeli Soldiers Killed In Fighting In Eastern Gaza City

Israel on Friday said that four more of its soldiers were killed in fighting in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.

In a statement, the Israeli army said all four belonged to the army's Nahal Brigade's 931st Battalion, adding that two others from the same battalion were seriously injured in fighting.

Citing a preliminary probe, The Times of Israel reported that the soldiers were killed by an explosive device or devices in an alleyway.

The number of soldiers killed since the start of the Israeli ground operation in Gaza on Oct. 27 has risen to 271, while the army's death toll since the launch of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza on Oct. 7 has increased to 619.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 34,900 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,514 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. -