The Israeli army said Tuesday that 21 soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip in the deadliest attack on its troops since the war began, as criticism grows over the government’s handling of the 3-month-old war against Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead until Israel crushes the ruling Hamas militant group and wins the freedom of over 100 hostages held captive in Gaza. Israelis are increasingly divided on the question of whether it’s possible to do either. On Monday, hostages’ family members disrupted a committee meeting in Israel’s parliament, yelling, “You won’t sit here while they are dying there!”
Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip pounded the southern city of Khan Younis on Monday, pushing thousands of Palestinians to flee even further south. The war has displaced some 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, and one in four of them are starving, the United Nations says.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, which erupted on Oct. 7 when militants from Gaza attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Currently:
— Families of Israeli hostages storm Knesset, demanding a deal for their release.
— Twenty-one Israeli soldiers are killed in the deadliest single attack on the army since the war began.
— The European Union pushes for Palestinian statehood, rejecting Israeli leader’s insistence that it’s off the table.
— U.S. and British militaries launch a new round of joint strikes against multiple Houthi sites in Yemen.
— Find more of news agencies’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s the latest:
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says its forces have encircled the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The territory’s second largest city has seen heavy fighting in recent days, with dozens of Palestinians killed and wounded.
Israeli officials have said top Hamas leaders may be hiding in tunnels in the city.
The military said its forces have killed dozens of militants in Khan Younis in recent days and has encircled the city. It did not provide evidence, and it was not possible to independently confirm details about the fighting there.
Khan Younis is the hometown of Yehya Sinwar, Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, whose whereabouts are unknown. The military announced the encirclement in a statement on Tuesday.
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has mourned the loss of 21 soldiers in the deadliest single attack in Gaza and says the army will fight on until “absolute victory.”
In a posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu said Monday was “one of the hardest days since the outbreak of the war.”
He said the army will launch an investigation into the attack, in which a militant fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tank, setting off a secondary explosion that brought two buildings down on the soldiers.
It was the deadliest single attack on Israeli forces in Gaza since the ground operation began.
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