GAZA CITY, Palestine 

The Israeli army announced on Thursday that two more officers and one soldier were killed and 8 others seriously injured in fresh clashes with Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll since Oct. 7 to 469.

A military statement said that First Lt. Yaakov Elyan, 20, First Lt. Omri Schwarz, 21, and Sergeant Lavi Ghassi, 19, were killed in fighting in the southern Palestinian territory.

This brings the total number of Israeli soldiers and officers killed since Oct. 7 to 469.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 19,667 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 52,586 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.