As many as 40 Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza war with Hamas since the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), backed by United States, invaded and launched ground, air, and sea operations in Gaza to defeat the Islamist group Hamas.

The IDF announced Friday that Staff Sgt. Gilad Rozenblit from Kibbutz Ginegar was killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Rozenblit, 21, was a frontline medic and was killed in northern Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with US media mogul Fox News said: "It's taking a little longer than I had hoped."

Bibi admits Op in Gaza took a little while than expected earlier

"I hope we could do it very fast, but we have battled conditions on the ground, the safety of our own forces, the hostages. We want to get out and the humanitarian corridors," Netanyahu told Fox News.

"So it's taken a little while, but … I very much appreciate the support that President Biden has shown, the administration has shown, and frankly, the American people have shown and in the Congress have shown on both sides of the aisle," he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister: 'Expansion of scope of Gaza war is inevitable'

An expansion of the scope of the war in Gaza is inevitable due to the heightened Israeli "aggression," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Press TV reported on Friday.

Biden confirms four-hour ceasefire in Gaza

U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday in a series of posts on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that Israel has agreed to pause military operations in parts of north Gaza for four hours a day, to allow people to flee along two humanitarian corridors.

Biden added that "there were 96 trucks of supplies [entering Gaza] two days ago, and 106 trucks yesterday. But we need to see more, and soon. We are aiming for at least 150 per day, every day."

He also reiterated that Israel has "an obligation to distinguish between terrorists and civilians and fully comply with international law."

For weeks, I've been speaking with Israel’s leaders about the importance of humanitarian pauses in the fighting to get civilians to safety, support the freeing of hostages, and increase the flow of food, water, and medicine into Gaza.

Here's the latest on those conversations:
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 9, 2023

Over 80,000 Gazans expelled from Israel

Over 80,000 people were expelled from northern Gaza through an evacuation corridor Thursday, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement, inc omaprsion to 50,000 people evacuated northern Gaza, according to Israel Defence Forces figures on Thursday.