TEL AVIV, March 11. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has lost 589 servicemen in fighting with the radical Palestinian movement Hamas since tensions escalated on October 7, 2023, the army press service said.
According to the latest data, another Israeli serviceman was killed on Sunday in the southern Gaza Strip. Thus, since the beginning of the ground operation in the enclave, the IDF has lost 249 servicemen.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 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. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank.