God bless you Israeli ground and air attacks on the Gaza Strip force Palestinians to leave Khan Younis. On Monday, January 22, 2024, they arrive in Rafah, which is in the southern part of Gaza. Photo by Fatima Shbair for APTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AP reports that in Jerusalem, The military said Tuesday that 21 Israeli soldiers were killed in the deadliest single attack on Israeli forces since the Hamas raid that started the war. This is a major loss that could add to the growing calls for a cease-fire.
After a few hours, the military said that ground troops had surrounded Khan Younis, the second largest city in Gaza, in the south. That was a big step forward, but it wasn’t clear how much closer it would make Israel to defeating Hamas or freeing Israeli prisoners, which are two main goals of the war that have become harder to reach, or how it would affect the cease-fire talks, which are moving forward quickly.
After the troops died, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the offensive would go on until there was “absolute victory” over Hamas. But Israelis are becoming less and less sure that such a win is possible and that it is possible to bring the hostages back. During past conflicts, a lot of deaths put pressure on Israel to stop its military activities.
A top Egyptian official said that Israel has suggested a two-month cease-fire in which the hostages would be freed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and the freedom for top Hamas leaders in Gaza to move to other countries.
The official, who did not want to be named because they were not allowed to talk to the media, said that Hamas turned down the offer and will not release any more hostages until Israel stops its offensive and pulls out of Gaza. The Israeli government wouldn’t say anything about the talks.
The source said that Egypt and Qatar, which have helped Israel and Hamas come to agreements in the past, were working on a multistage plan to try to bring the two sides together. Families of the hostages want Israel to make a deal with Hamas because they say time is running out to get their loved ones back safe.
After Hamas crossed the border on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, Israel went on the attack. During a week-long cease-fire in November, more than 100 prisoners were freed.
The attack has killed many people and destroyed a lot of property. It has also forced about 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people to leave their homes and put a quarter of them at risk of going hungry.
Tensions in the region have grown because of the war. In support of the Palestinians, groups backed by Iran have attacked US and Israeli targets in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Monday, the US and UK began more attacks against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. These rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea.
Heavy Fighting In The Middle And South
It is thought that Hamas has lost a lot of people, but they have kept up a strong fight against one of the deadliest air and ground offensives in recent history. Militants are still firing rockets at Israel and fighting Israeli troops all over the area.
On Monday, militants shot a rocket-propelled grenade at a nearby tank while Israeli reservists were getting ready to blow up two buildings in the crowded Maghazi refugee camp in the middle of Gaza. The explosion set off the bombs, which caused both two-story buildings to fall on the troops inside.
The military says that at least 217 troops have been killed since the ground offensive began in late October. Three of them were killed on Monday in a separate incident.
There was “one of the hardest days” since the war started, Netanyahu said, and the military would look into it. “We will not stop fighting until we win for our own lives and in the name of our heroes,” he wrote on X, which used to be called Twitter.
Also, on Tuesday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said that the bodies of 195 people killed by Israeli bombings had been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours. It said that hospitals also took in 354 hurt people.
With these deaths, 25,490 people have died in the strip since the war began, the ministry said. It also said that 63,354 people were hurt. The ministry’s count doesn’t tell the difference between citizens and soldiers.
According to Israel, they say they killed thousands of terrorists and mostly beat Hamas in northern Gaza in operations that destroyed a lot of land there, including Gaza City. In the past few weeks, the attack has been mainly aimed at Khan Younis and refugee camps in central Gaza, such as Maghazi, that date back to the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel.
The military said that they had killed dozens of terrorists in Khan Younis in the past few days and had surrounded the city without showing proof. It was not possible to check those claims on my own.
Israel thinks that Hamas leaders may be hiding in huge tunnel networks under Khan Younis, which is where the group’s top boss in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, grew up. No one knows where Sinwar is. It is also thought that Hamas leaders are using hostages as human shields, which makes it even harder to save them.
Calls For The Fire To Stop
As the number of deaths rises and the situation for civilians gets worse, the world puts more and more pressure on Israel to stop the attack and agree to a way for a Palestinian state to be made after the war. These calls have been backed by the United States, which has given important military support to the assault.
But Netanyahu has turned down both requests. His support has dropped sharply since October 7, and the parties in his government coalition are heavily influenced by far-right groups.
He instead said that Israel would have to expand its operations and eventually take over the Gaza side of the border with Egypt. This is where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled other areas are living in U.N.-run shelters and large tent camps that are already full to the brim.
That made Egypt’s government very angry, and they denied Israeli claims that Hamas brings weapons in through the highly guarded border.
Egypt and Israel signed a historic peace treaty more than 40 years ago. On Monday, Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt’s State Information Service, said that any move by Israel to occupy the border area would “lead to a serious threat” to their relationship. Egypt is also very worried about the possibility of a large group of Palestinian refugees coming to live on the Sinai Peninsula.
Rashwan said that Egypt had full control of the border after a series of steps in the past few years, such as building walls above and below ground and creating a 5-kilometer (3-mile) buffer zone.
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