Another Israeli officer killed in battle in southern Gaza: Army

JERUSALEM

Another Israeli officer was killed in fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, the army said Saturday.

“Yesterday (Friday), Major Amishar Ben David Malle was killed in battle in southern Gaza,” the army said in a statement.

Israeli army data shows the number of fatalities in its ranks in the Gaza war since Oct. 7 reached 587, including 247 since the start of a ground operation by Tel Aviv into Gaza on Oct. 27.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, in which less than 1,200 people were killed.

Nearly 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

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

Israel is 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 Rania Abu Shamala