TEL AVIV, November 22. /TASS/. The losses of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the fighting with the radical Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the ground operation on October 27 have reached 69 people, the army press service reported.

In the past 24 hours, one Israeli servicemen was killed and another was seriously wounded in the northern Gaza Strip. The total losses of the Israeli army since the attack of Hamas militants on October 7 amounted to 390 people.

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.