TEL AVIV, November 2. /TASS/. At least 242 hostages are being held in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest data of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

"We have notified the families of 242 hostages," he said at a morning briefing.

Hagari also said that 332 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s hostilities with Gaza-based radical Palestinian group Hamas on October 7.

"IDF soldiers continue to advance in the area of Gaza City and are conducting close combat battles with Hamas terrorists and expanding the fighting. <…> At the end of the battles spanning a few hours, including fighting from the ground with air support from aircraft and missile ships, many terrorists were killed," Hagari noted. He added that "the soldiers continue to destroy Hamas’ defensive lines in northern Gaza."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking more than 200 hostages, including women, children 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.