JERUSALEM

The Israeli army confirmed Thursday that 69 military commanders have been killed since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict last October.

The deaths included four colonels, six lieutenant colonels, 39 battalion commanders, 13 company commanders, and seven other officers, Israeli Army Radio reported.

Israeli military figures showed that at least 587 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, including 247 since Tel Aviv expanded its ground operations in the enclave on Oct. 27, 2023.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive, now in its 153rd day, on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul