In a huge setback to Israel, 24 of its soldiers were killed in the biggest single-day losses since the start of its ground war in Gaza.


The soldiers were killed on Monday, with the army saying 21 of them were reserve soldiers who got killed 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”.

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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.


Gaza’s Ministry of Health said Nasser Hospital and El Amal City Hospital in Khan Younis, among the few partially functioning hospitals in the territory, were under “extreme danger” from Israeli bombardment.


“The buildings of the Nasser Medical Complex are exposed to shrapnel, endangering the lives of patients, staff and displaced people,” the ministry said on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.


“The Israeli occupation places Nasser Medical Complex and El Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in extreme danger,” it said, calling for “urgent intervention” to safeguard both facilities.

Moreover, Al-Jazeera just released a video compilation of Israeli soldiers filming themselves enjoying and being insensitive to the Palestinian properties.