Military authorities in Israel announced on Sunday that a minimum of 15 soldiers lost their lives in intense combat in Gaza over the weekend, marking one of the deadliest days in the ongoing conflict. As reported by the BBC, the current Gaza invasion has resulted in the death of 154 Israeli soldiers, with more than 300 Israeli troops killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, along with over 800 civilians, according to the New York Times.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged on Sunday that the war in Gaza has imposed a significant toll, stating, “However, we have no choice but to continue to fight.”
Hamas countered with a statement on Sunday, characterizing the Israeli invasion as a “failure” and asserting that the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, had successfully confronted and inflicted substantial losses on Israeli soldiers.
The Gaza health ministry, under Hamas’s control, reported 166 Palestinian casualties on Saturday, with over 20,000 individuals, predominantly women and children, having lost their lives in Gaza since the commencement of the Israeli invasion. Israeli military officials, in a separate statement to Reuters, claimed to have killed approximately 8,000 Palestinian militants since October 7. Military authorities in Israel
Efforts for a truce in Gaza, along with the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, are ongoing. Talks hosted by Egypt have yet to yield an agreement. Egyptian officials have proposed a new three-stage plan, beginning with a two-week humanitarian truce, followed by the release of 40 hostages held by Hamas and 120 prisoners held by Israel. The third stage involves establishing an independent entity to oversee humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts in Gaza, as reported by the BBC.