The Israeli army launched rocket attacks on the main city in southern Gaza in the fiercest fighting since the ground invasion to destroy Hamas began five weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the US has again demanded Israel minimise Palestinian civilian casualties.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said its fighters had engaged in fierce clashes with the Israelis. Israel said its army, under cover of warplanes, reached the centre of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Tuesday and surrounded the town. The commander of the Israeli military’s Southern Command, General Yaron Finkelman, said in a statement:
“We are in the most intense day since the beginning of the ground operation.”
The fighting was the most intense since the truce between Israel and Hamas was broken last week. Israeli troops also fought in Jabaliya, a major urban refugee camp and Hamas hotbed in the north near Gaza City, and in Shuja’iyya in the east, Finkelman said.
Hamas officials said eight Israeli soldiers were killed or wounded and 24 military vehicles were destroyed on Tuesday. Israel’s military website reported two military deaths for Tuesday and 83 since the start of the ground operation.
The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on homes in Deir al-Balah, north of Khan Younis, killed many civilians. Dr Eyad al-Jabri, head of Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital, told Reuters that at least 45 people were killed.
Israel launched its military operation in response to the 7 October attack by Hamas militants, who killed 1,200 Israelis and took 240 hostages, according to Israeli calculations.
On Tuesday, the Hamas media office said the Israeli military had killed at least 16,248 people in Gaza since 7 October, including 7,112 children and 4,885 women. Thousands more are missing and believed to be buried under rubble.
Biden blamed the Hamas group for the breakdown of the truce last week. He said “the militants’ refusal to release the remaining young women is what destroyed this deal.” Israel and Hamas have accused each other of derailing the talks.
On Tuesday, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said the hostages will no longer be released until Israel’s military operation is completely halted. The US also imposed a visa ban on people involved in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after calls for Israel to do more to prevent attacks on Palestinians by Jewish settlers.
On Wednesday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported the deaths of two Palestinian teenagers in Israeli shelling in Tubas, West Bank. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday condemned settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
