Israeli army says 44 soldiers killed in Gaza since start of war

The Israeli army on Monday announced the death of two additional soldiers in northern Gaza, raising to 44 the number killed in the Palestinian territory since October 7.

An army spokesperson told AFP that 44 were killed “inside Gaza during the war” that began when Hamas militants stormed Israel’s southern border.

Israel on Friday revised down the death toll from last month’s Hamas attacks in southern Israel from 1,400 to 1,200, according to a foreign ministry spokesman.

“This is the updated number. It is due to the fact that there were lot of corpses that were not identified and now we think those belong to terrorists … not Israeli casualties,” ministry spokesman Lior Haiat told AFP.

Israel is facing mounting international pressure, including from its main ally the United States, to do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza as the death toll rose and fighting intensified between Israeli forces and Hamas militants near and around hospitals.

Global calls for Israeli restraint increased as the number of Palestinians killed rose above 11,000 in a five-week-old Israeli bombardment launched against Hamas in retaliation for its deadly October 7 rampage in southern Israel.