GAZA: Israel said on Tuesday 24 soldiers were killed in the biggest single-day losses since the start of its ground war in Gaza amid growing pressure on the government to find a way to end the conflict.
Twenty-four soldiers were killed on Monday, with the army saying 21 of them were reservists slain when rocket-propelled grenade fire hit a tank and two buildings they were trying to blow up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an investigation was launched into the "disaster" and that Israel "must learn the necessary lessons". Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the "deaths of 24 of our fighters, our best sons... is a heavy blow".
An analyst said the mounting toll of soldiers killed -- now 221 -- since Israel launched its ground offensive in Gaza would heap pressure on the government.
"Everybody is mourning the soldiers this morning and I think people will demand clear answers about the purpose and the goal of this operation in Gaza," said Israela Oron of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
On the ground, fighting raged in Khan Yunis, the biggest city in southern Gaza, which the army said it had "encircled".
Witnesses said powerful explosions rocked Khan Yunis, as well as Deir al Balah in north Gaza and Rafah in the south.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said its staff at Khan Yunis's Nasser Hospital felt the "ground shaking".
The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces had hit its headquarters in Khan Yunis "resulting in injuries among internally displaced individuals who sought safety on our premises".
Israel has carried out a relentless offensive that has killed at least 25,490 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory.
A week-long truce in November saw 105 captives released, the Israelis among them in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Relatives of those still held captive stormed a parliamentary committee meeting on Monday demanding urgent action.
"You sit here while our children are dying over there," yelled Gilad Korngold, father of captive Tal Shoham, a correspondent reported.
Netanyahu has steadfastly rejected calls for the creation of a Palestinian state, saying Israel must maintain "security control over all the territory west of the Jordan" River, an area that includes all of the Palestinian territories.
EU foreign ministers pressed Israel to change its mind at meetings in Brussels on Monday with the top diplomats from the two warring parties and key Arab states.
At the gathering, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz ignored questions from journalists over a future two-state solution and said his country was focused on returning the captives and ensuring its security. — AFP
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