The Israeli military, under strict information control, announced that five of its troops, including two officers, were killed in confrontations in northern Gaza.
Initially, the army claimed that only two soldiers had been wounded.
After media disclosures contradicted the official statement, the military was forced to acknowledge that 14 more soldiers had actually been injured.
Israeli media outlets reported that the real toll of dead and wounded exceeds the figures released by the army’s spokesperson.
Some reports noted that the occupation military often refrains from publishing casualty numbers altogether.
Earlier, Israeli army radio, enforcing severe censorship, admitted that since the start of the war, 866 occupation troops have been killed, with 426 fatalities occurring after the ground assault on Gaza began.