No fewer that 123 Israeli soldiers have lost their lives following the attack launched on the country by Islamist militant group, Hamas, the Israeli military said on Tuesday.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari who disclosed this also said 50 Israeli families have so far been personally informed that their loved ones were being held hostage in the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Israel believed at least 100 people, including soldiers were abducted in Saturday’s multi-pronged massive attack that caught the Jewish state napping.
Meanwhile, ahead of a possible ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israel has almost completely evacuated the communities situated near the border of the Palestinian territory.
Almost all residents in these areas have been moved to safer locations, military spokesman Hagari said on Tuesday.
He said there were a few people who stayed behind, either by choice or necessity.
He added that any Palestinian approaching the barrier with Israel would be shot.
The Israeli military said earlier that it had retaken full control of the border with Gaza, after Hamas militants at the weekend fired thousands of rockets.
They fired thousands of rockets that breached border defences and went on a rampage that left some 900 people dead and 2,600 injured in Israel.
Several hundred people have been killed in Gaza in retaliatory strikes by the Israeli air force.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army has denied that anyone has officially called on residents of the Gaza Strip to leave the area and head to Egypt.
Reacting on Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) headed by Herzi Halavi. said: “In recent days, the IDF has been instructing the population inside the Gaza Strip to distance themselves from designated areas.
“We emphasise that there is no official call by Israel for residents of the Gaza Strip to exit into Egypt,” the IDF wrote.
