Dozens of Palestinians, four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza

At least 48 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources reported on Thursday.

Hospital reports indicated that 38 of the fatalities occurred in Gaza City.

The Israeli military reported that four soldiers were killed by an explosive device in the southern part of the territory.

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said roughly 450,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City, which previously had a population of around 1 million.

Israel launched a highly controversial ground offensive in the city in the early hours of Tuesday.

The government says the operation aims to crush the Palestinian militant group Hamas and secure the release of remaining Israeli hostages.

Military spokesman Effie Defrin stated that the Israeli army has struck more than 1,200 targets since the ground offensive began.

Information from both sides cannot currently be independently verified.

The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas and other Islamist terrorists launched an attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 to the Gaza Strip.

Since then, more than 65,000 Palestinians in the coastal territory have been killed, including numerous women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.