TEL AVIV, October 29. /TASS/. Israeli army units continue to expand ground operations in the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

"Overnight, IDF units expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip. Additional ground forces joined the units. We are continuing the military operations as planned," he said.

"We are gradually expanding ground operations and the scope of our forces' presence in the Gaza Strip," the army spokesman pointed out. "Ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip continue. Ground operations are difficult and risky for our units. We will do everything possible from the air, sea and land to ensure the safety of our forces and to achieve the goals of the war," he added.

Hagari also said that 311 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting since October 7.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking more than 200 hostages, including children, women and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.