Israel suffers worst Gaza losses
Twenty-four Israeli soldiers were killed in Israel's worst day of losses in Gaza, the military said yesterday, as it claimed to have encircled southern Gaza's main city in a major ground assault.
Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said 21 soldiers were killed when two buildings they had mined for demolition exploded after Hamas fighters fired at a nearby tank. Earlier, three soldiers were reported killed in a separate attack in southern Gaza.
"Yesterday we experienced one of our most difficult days since the war erupted," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. "In the name of our heroes, for the sake of our lives, we will not stop fighting until absolute victory."
The deaths came amid the heaviest fight of 2024 so far, as the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) stormed remaining parts of Khan Younis, the main city in the south of the enclave sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians.
Gazans said the Israeli forces, advancing west across the crowded city towards the Mediterranean coast since Monday, have blockaded and stormed hospitals, leaving the wounded and dead beyond the reach of rescuers.
At least 195 Palestinians were killed in the previous 24 hours, raising the documented toll to 25,490, according to Palestinian health officials, who said thousands more dead are feared lost in the rubble.
Bodies were being buried in the grounds of Khan Younis's main Nasser hospital because it was unsafe to go to the cemetery. Another Khan Younis hospital, Al-Khair, was stormed by Israeli troops who arrested staff there, and a third, Al-Amal, run by the Palestinian Red Crescent, was unreachable, according to Palestinian officials.
The Red Crescent said a tank shell had hit its headquarters on Amal's fourth floor, a civilian had been killed at the entrance, and Israeli forces were firing from drones on anyone who moved nearby, making it impossible to dispatch ambulances for the entire Khan Younis area.
The Palestinian Prisoner's Society said that Israeli forces detained 25 Palestinians overnight across the occupied West Bank. This brings the total number of Palestinians arrested since October 7 to 6,220, reports Al Jazeera online.
The large death toll of Israeli troops in fighting comes at a time when Israel itself is beginning to see the first stirrings of discontent with Netanyahu's war strategy - committed to the total annihilation of Hamas but with only vague discussion of what would come next for Gaza.
Relatives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza have called for more effort to bring them home, even if that means reining in the military campaign. A group of them burst into a parliamentary committee hearing on Monday evening.
- Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis under siege
- Death toll in Gaza rises to 25,490
- 25 Palestinians arrested in occupied West Bank
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