IDF marks 2 years since start of Gaza ground op by releasing previously unseen photos

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday marked two years since the ground offensive inside the Gaza Strip began on October 27, 2023, by releasing previously unseen photographs taken during the fighting in the Strip.

The ground operation began just 20 days after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught, during which terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251 hostages back to Gaza.

In the subsequent two years of fighting, IDF ground troops have operated in almost all areas of the coastal Palestinian enclave, including large-scale offensives in the towns and camps of northern Gaza, as well as the main city centers of Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah.

Tens of thousands of Israeli troops have operated in Gaza over the past two years, including both conscripted soldiers and reservists.

Since beginning the ground offensive, 475 Israelis have been killed in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, more than 68,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel on and immediately following October 7.