Two senior Israeli commanders and seven other soldiers have been killed by Hamas in an ambush in northern Gaza, where intense battles have been taking place in recent days.
As international pressure grows for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, with an intense aerial bombardment of the besieged territory continuing alongside ground operations, Israel has vowed to press on until it has eradicated Hamas. The military reported 10 soldiers had been killed in total over the last 24 hours, the worst day for soldier deaths since October.
Among the dead in the ambush were Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, 44, the most senior officer to have been killed in the ground operation, and Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, a battalion commander.
Israel's bombardment of Gaza started in response to an attack by Hamas inside southern Israel on 7 October which killed 1,200 people and saw another 240 taken hostage into Gaza. The health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip say that 18,600 people have died, with many more wounded.
The ambush took place Tuesday in Shijaiyah, a suburb of Gaza City, when troops searching a cluster of buildings lost communication with four soldiers who had come under fire, the military said. When the other soldiers launched a rescue operation, they were ambushed with heavy gunfire and explosives. It came after repeated recent claims by the Israeli military that it had broken Hamas' command structure in northern Gaza and encircled remaining pockets of fighters.
Israel moved into southern Gaza nearly two weeks ago, and heavy fighting has continued in its first target — the city of Khan Younis. Israeli strikes overnight hit two residential buildings in and around the city.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. speaking to military commanders on Wednesday, vowed to press ahead with Israel's Gaza offensive "until the end."
Mr Netanyahu said Tuesday was a "very difficult day," but that the war will continue. "We are continuing until the end, there is no question. I say this even given the great pain, and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us, we will continue until the end, until victory, nothing less," said Netanyahu.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden criticised what he described as "indiscriminate bombing" by Israel, and the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly called for a ceasefire in a non-binding vote.
The fighting, bombardment and associated blockade of Gaza has left the territory's health care system and humanitarian aid operations close to collapse in large areas, and aid workers have warned of starvation and the spread of disease among displaced people.
"We all know that the health care system is or has collapsed," said Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian soordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory.
Ms Hastings said people in Gaza had to line up for hours just to access a toilet. "You can imagine what the sanitation conditions are like," she said.
Ms Hasting said that almost half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million was now in Rafah in the southern tip of the enclave to escape Israeli bombardment.
"We've got a textbook formula for epidemics and a public health disaster," she added.
