JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli officer and soldier were killed in clashes in the northern Gaza Strip, the army said Sunday.

A military statement said that the two troops were from the Kfir Brigade's 90th Battalion.

The new fatalities brought the Israeli military deaths to 798, while 5,365 others were injured since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict last year, according to military figures released by the army.

Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza to allegedly prevent Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Since then, no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, was allowed into the area, leaving most of the population there on the verge of imminent famine.

More than 2,000 people have since been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The onslaught was the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 43,800 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala