GAZA CITY, Palestine 

The Israeli army on Monday announced that one more of its soldiers had been killed in fighting with Palestinian groups in the northern Gaza Strip. 

In a statement cited by the Jerusalem Post daily, the Israeli army identified the soldier as Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amichai Yisrael Yehosha Oster, 24, from the army's 7020 Battalion, who was killed in battle in northern Gaza.

The statement added that four others sustained injuries from battles across Gaza, with all of them now in serious condition.

A total of 171 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israeli ground operation in Gaza on Oct. 27.

The death toll of the Israeli army since the launch of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza on Oct. 7 has risen to 507.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 21,978 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 57,697 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, including soldiers.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​