Israel lays siege to Khan Younis after worst single-day military death toll

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army said Tuesday it completed a siege of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, hours after at least 24 soldiers were killed in the Palestinian enclave.

“Over the past day, troops carried out an extensive operation during which they encircled Khan Younis and deepened the operation in the area,” it said in a statement.

“Ground troops engaged in close-quarters combat, directed strikes and used intelligence to coordinate fire,” it said, claiming that dozens of Hamas fighters were killed.

There was no comment from the Palestinian resistance group about the claim.

The army said Monday that at least 24 soldiers had been killed in Gaza in the worst single-day death toll since Tel Aviv launched its war against the Palestinian territory.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas, on Oct. 7, killing at least 25,490 Palestinians and injuring 63,354. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The onslaught has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.