TEL AVIV, November 15. /TASS/. The total number of casualties among Israeli servicemen during the ground operation in the Gaza Strip has reached 48, the Israel Defense Forces said.

According to the latest report, two more Israeli servicemen were killed the day before. The losses were recorded during the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday night, Israel launched a ground operation near the Al-Shifa Hospital, where, according to intelligence, the command headquarters of the Palestinian Hamas movement is located. The Israeli army also claims that there are several underground compounds and a tunnel under the hospital where some 200 radicals are hiding and holding hostages.

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 over 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.