TEL AVIV, November 13. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says two more soldiers have been killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the military death toll in the ground operation against the radical Palestinian group Hamas to 44, The Times of Israel reported.

According to its information, the dead are a 28-year-old major and a 21-year-old staff sergeant of the IDF Special Forces Brigade.

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 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.