The army reported on Wednesday that at least 169 Israeli troops have died in clashes with Hamas militants following their surprise cross-border raid.
“As of this morning, we’ve informed the families of 169 fallen IDF (army) soldiers,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, adding that the families of 60 people abducted and taken to Gaza have also been contacted.
He said no new infiltrations by Gaza militants had been reported over the past two days but added that “hundreds of bodies” of slain gunmen had still not been cleared from the border.
“This shows the scope of fighting in the area,” Hagari said.
“They intended on conquering the territory, they weren’t planning on raiding and returning to Gaza,” he said.
“There are individuals who have remained in the field… Over the past day, we’ve killed 18 terrorists.”
In the bloodiest strike in the nation’s 75-year history, Hamas militants launched a savage assault on Israel on Saturday that has left at least 1,200 people dead.
1,055 Palestinians have died in Gaza as a result of Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes and shelling on the heavily populated region.
AFP
