JERUSALEM

Israeli forces have paid a “heavy price” during their ground operation in the Gaza Strip despite making “significant” achievements, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday.

Gallant made the comments during a meeting at Palmachim Airbase in central Israel with troops of the Air Force’s elite Shaldag and 669 units, according to Israeli Army Radio.

“The Israeli army uses forces on a large scale deep in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

"There are battles against the forces operating there, and the results and achievements on the battlefield are very great. Unfortunately, there is also a cost in war, and in the last 24 hours, we have paid a heavy price."

Gallant did not clarify what he meant.

The Israeli army announced late Tuesday that two soldiers were killed and others were seriously wounded in battles in the northern Gaza Strip.

With the latest deaths, the Israeli army's toll since the start of the fighting in Gaza on Oct. 7 rose to 317.

The Israeli army has expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since a surprise offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

The death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has climbed to 8,525, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said Tuesday.

“The victims include 3,542 children and 2,187 women, while 21,543 other people were injured,” ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told a press conference in Gaza City.

More than 1,538 Israelis have been killed in the conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected growing calls for a cease-fire, saying it would be a "surrender" to Hamas.

An Israeli blockade of the Strip has also cut Gaza off from fuel, electricity and water supplies, and reduced aid deliveries are unable to satisfy the needs of over 2 million Palestinians there.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat