Among the fatalities are eight people in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and four people in Gaza City in the north.
At least 17 more people have been killed since midnight in various Israeli attacks.
Since Israel resumed bombing Gaza on March 18, after a two-month ceasefire, over 2,300 people have been killed, according to Gaza's health authorities, controlled by the terrorist-stamped Hamas. A total of around 55,000 people may have been killed in the war.
Netanyahu says in a speech on the occasion of the country's independence day, that the goal of the military operations is to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
We want to bring home both the living and the fallen – it's a very important mission, says Netanyahu, adding:
But in war, there is a supreme goal. It is to defeat our enemies and we will achieve it.
Hamas abducted 251 people from Israel in connection with the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. 58 are still in Gaza, of whom 34 are believed to be no longer alive.
