Israeli army names 700th soldier killed in Gaza

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that 700 of its soldiers have been killed since the start on the war on Gaza, naming the latest soldier in the toll as Sergeant Amit Tsadikov, 20.

The soldier was part of the paratroopers brigade’s 101st Battalion, and died on Saturday after a device exploded in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army also announced that a soldier from the 601st Engineering Battalion was seriously wounded on Saturday in fighting in southern Gaza.

According to the Israeli news outlet Haaretz, four Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza on Friday in two separate incidents.

The soldiers were identified as Danil Pechenyuk, Nitai Metodi and Evyatr Atuar and were killed in an explosion in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood.

Yaniv Itzhak Oren was also killed in an exchange of fire in the central Gaza Strip.

Israel’s army also announced that since the start of the war on Gaza, around 4,350 soldiers have been wounded, including 2,229 in ground battles.

The army has faced accusations of concealing the actual death toll, which is expected to be higher than the figure given, the Arabic news site Arabi21 reported.

The report added that on a daily basis, the armed wing of Hamas announces the killing and wounding of Israeli soldiers in military operations in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have killed at least 40,405 Palestinians in Gaza since 7 October and wounded an additional 93,468 in the same time frame.

Israel's indiscriminate bombardment has utterly devastated Gaza and plunged it into a deep humanitarian crisis, levelling entire neighbourhoods.