GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Israeli army said Tuesday at least 40 soldiers were injured in clashes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. 

A military statement said that five soldiers were in serious condition.

According to military figures, at least 874 soldiers have been injured since Israel expanded its ground operations in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27.

The Israeli army says 492 soldiers have been killed since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7.

In response to a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, Israel launched air and ground attacks on the coastal territory and has since killed at least 20,915 people, most of them women and children.

The onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicines.

Tel Aviv has vowed to destroy Hamas and ensure the release of all hostages taken during the October attack. Some of them were returned after a temporary truce in November in exchange for some Palestinian prisoners.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio