Israel army says 82 soldiers killed in Gaza offensive
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Israeli soldiers carrying the casket of Sergeant Yakir Yedidya Schenkolewski, 21, who was killed in Gaza during Israel's ongoing ground operation against Hamas.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JERUSALEM – The Israeli army said on Dec 5 that 82 soldiers had been killed since the start of its offensive against Hamas
After weeks of heavy bombing, Israel launched a ground offensive in the territory on Oct 27 aimed at destroying Hamas in retaliation for an attack that Israeli officials say killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
The army on Dec 5 afternoon gave a toll of 80 soldiers killed, following the deaths on Dec 4 of five soldiers.
Later on Dec 5, a statement announced two more had been killed inside Gaza.
In nearly two months of fighting sparked by Hamas’ Oct 7 attacks on Israel, at least 16,248 people, most of them children or women, have been killed in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas media office said on Dec 5. AFP
