World Bulletin/News Desk

Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon revealed on Sunday that a second lieutenant who was earlier declared dead in combat in the Gaza Strip on Friday was a relative of his.

Ya'alon disclosed the presence of a family connection between him and the Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, writing on his Twitter account that he had known the latter since his birth.

The Israeli minister paid tribute to Goldin, saying he died as he tried to "bring calm back to Israel."

He did not, however, elaborate on the exact family connection between him and the slain soldier.

The Israeli army declared late on Saturday that Goldin, who went missing on Friday, was killed in Gaza combat, one day after it said he was captured by Hamas.

Even with this, the army did not mention how it made sure that the soldier was killed.

It said in a statement that it had notified the soldier's family of his death earlier.

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip since July 7, killing 1766 people at least, injuring more than 9320 and turning thousands of homes and buildings to rubble.

The vast majority of the dead and injured victims are civilians: children, women and elderly people, according to the U.N. as well as Palestinian health officials. 

Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rocket at Israeli cities in response to relentless Israeli bombardments.

According to Israeli figures, at least 64 soldiers have been killed in battles with Palestinian fighters in Gaza, making up the highest Israeli military fatality toll in the three assaults. Three Israelis have also been killed by rocket fire from Gaza.