GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Hamas group's armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades on Saturday said its fighters had killed five more Israeli soldiers in fighting in northern Gaza.

In a statement, it said: “Al-Qassam forces attacked a Zionist force holed up in a building northwest of Gaza City.”

Al-Qassam added that its forces clashed with the Israeli forces “with machine guns and bombs, and killed five soldiers and wounded others.”

This week the Israeli army expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since a surprise offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Nearly 11,000 people have been killed in the conflict, including 9,488 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi​​​​​​​