Jerusalem, Dec 8 (IANS): An Israeli officer was killed in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

According to the statement, the officer, Avraham Ben Pinchas, was a platoon commander in the 46th Battalion of the IDF's 401st Armoured Brigade, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel's Channel 12 News reported that the officer was killed on Saturday when an anti-tank missile hit the tank he was commanding.

The IDF said Ben Pinchas was the 809th Israeli soldier killed since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict last year.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 44,664, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday.