Hamas rejects Israeli proposal for a two-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages.
A senior Egyptian official reported this on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press.
According to the source, Hamas has refused, insisting that no more hostages will be released until Israel ceases its offensive and withdraws from the Strip.
The proposal also included the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons and the authorization for Hamas leaders in Gaza to move to other countries.
Israeli
ground forces have meanwhile completed the encirclement of
Khan
Yunis
, the main city in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip, and have strengthened their presence inside.
This was announced by the military spokesman.
He added that parachute units from the Givati brigade and armored vehicles participated in the operation, assisted by commando units.
That area - added the spokesperson - is considered a stronghold of Hamas' 'Khan Yunis Brigade'.
During the operations, the spokesperson added, ''we eliminated dozens of terrorists and took possession of weapons warehouses''.
The Israeli army asked residents of 6 districts west of the city of Khan Yunis to evacuate to the "humanitarian zone" of Moassi by the sea, "through Al-Bahar Street".
The military spokesman in Arabic Avichai Adraee made this known, adding that the invitation is "for the safety of the residents".
Khan Yunis, a Hamas stronghold in the south of the Strip, has been completely surrounded by the army since this morning.
''We have experienced one of the heaviest days since the beginning of the conflict'', but this does not mean ''Israel will stop fighting until total victory''.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this, referring to the explosion that caused the death of 21 soldiers in Almaazi, in the center of the Gaza Strip.
''I am aware that the lives of the families of the heroic fallen soldiers - he added - will change forever.
I feel pain for these losses and I embrace the relatives of our soldiers."
The prime minister confirmed that an investigation has been opened into the matter by the army.
Twenty-one soldiers were killed last night in ongoing fighting in Khan Yunis, south of Gaza, military spokesman Daniel Hagari announced.
It was the most serious episode for the Israeli army since the beginning of the war.
The death of the 21 Israeli soldiers was caused by an anti-tank rocket launched by the "terrorists" which caused two buildings in which the soldiers were located to explode and collapse.
The attack took place in the Maghazi refugee camp, in the center of the Strip - not far from the border - and not as it initially seemed to Khan Yunis.
"As far as we know - said Hagari -, around 4pm (yesterday and not during the night) the terrorists launched a rocket at a tank protecting the soldiers and an explosion occurred in 2 buildings 2 floors. These collapsed while the soldiers were inside and near them."
The Red Crescent accuses the army: 'In Khan Yunis they shoot at our vehicles'
A spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent today accused the Israeli army of having opened fire on its rescue vehicles which were trying to provide aid to the wounded in Khan Yunis (south of Gaza).
This was reported by Haaretz, adding that even today the local Nasser hospital remains surrounded by the army, for the second consecutive day.
Last week the army reported that fire had been opened on soldiers from that hospital.
Borrell, 'Israel has no right of veto over the two states'
"We must start talking automatically about the application of the two states. And one thing must be clear: Israel has no right of veto on the self-determination of the Palestinian people, recognized by the United Nations."
The EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell said this in the press conference at the end of the EU-Egypt Association Council.
Sunak, 'we will not hesitate to respond to further Houthi attacks'
The UK will "not hesitate" to respond with military action again if Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea continue.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this while reporting to the House of Commons after the joint raids carried out overnight by London and Washington forces in Yemen against Houthi bases.
During the debate in the Commons, Sunak insisted on denying that he wanted a military escalation but at the same time reiterated that the Houthi attacks must stop.
According to the Tory prime minister, the real escalation is that led by the rebels who continue to target "US and British warships with missiles and drones, and threaten allied bases in the region".
The prime minister also said that, according to an initial intelligence assessment, the targeted targets had been hit effectively.
He also underlined that the Foreign Minister, David Cameron, is about to leave for a new tour in the Middle East, demonstrating the British desire to also relaunch diplomatic action in the region, including support for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state principle.
On the part of the Labor opposition, leader Keir Starmer reiterated, as he has done previously, his support for the raids, limiting himself to asking Downing Street for some more details on their effectiveness, future plans and the legal opinion of government offices competent.
Netanyahu, Gallant and Gantz in the North, after Hezbollah attacks
The situation created in northern Israel following the continuous attacks by Hezbollah was examined today by Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz in a meeting in Ramat Corazim (north of Lake Tiberias) with the representatives of the Israeli border towns with Lebanon.
In those hours, alarm sirens sounded in the Upper Galilee and the air base on Mount Meron (north of Safed) was attacked with Hezbollah rockets.
''We keep our eyes open for what happens in the North,'' Gallant said.
''Hezbollah continues with their provocations.
We keep ourselves ready.
We don't want a war, we are ready to face any situation that could develop in the North''.
Netanyahu reiterated that despite yesterday's heavy human losses, Israel remains determined to fight until victory.
''We are engaged in the most just of wars.
We have also achieved great successes, including today, with the encirclement of Khan Yunis, south of Gaza.
''But unfortunately we also paid a very heavy price''.
Former hostages, 'women and men raped in tunnels in Gaza'
Aviva Siegel, a former woman hostage in Gaza who was later released, and her daughter Shir told a Knesset commission that "women and men are raped by terrorists in the tunnels under the Strip".
"The terrorists," she said, quoted by the media, "bring dolls' clothes to the girls. They have turned the girls into their dolls, with whom they can do whatever they want."
Former hostage Chen Goldstein Almog also said that "there are girls there without menstruation for a long time and maybe that's why we should pray, that the body will protect them so that, God forbid, they don't get pregnant."
Hezbollah rockets against Galilee base, Iron Dome intercepts
At least 12 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon by Hezbollah towards the military aviation base on Mount Meron, in the Galilee.
Israeli public radio Kan reported that at least four were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense systems, while still others exploded in open areas in its vicinity.
What is defined as ''a very massive attack'' occurred while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in northern Israel, in an unspecified location, where today he met representatives of the tens of thousands of inhabitants forced to evacuate from their homes close to the border with Lebanon due to continuous bombing by Hezbollah.
GB, new raids to weaken the capabilities of the Houthi rebels
The UK has carried out new joint raids with the US against the Houthis in Yemen to "weaken" the rebels' ability to carry out "unacceptable" attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron said this, underlining that London has sent "the clearest possible message" and is ready to continue its military action to protect shipping in the region.
The head of the Foreign Office said that the second joint military action conducted overnight by the forces of London and Washington came following over 12 Houthi attacks against ships in the Red Sea which occurred in the 10 days after the first Anglo-American intervention.
Cameron said he was confident that the raids could reduce the Houthis' response capabilities and accused them of contributing to escalation in the region.
According to the minister, the rebels' narrative that their attacks are taking place in response to what is happening in Gaza in the conflict between Israel and Hamas is "not acceptable".
Houthis, US and UK raids will not go unpunished
The US and UK raids in Yemen will not go "unpunished".
The Houthi militiamen declare it after the new Anglo-British attacks.
Iran to the USA, the raids on the Houthis are a strategic mistake
"We have sent messages to the US, seriously warning them that joint attacks" with the UK against the Houthis in Yemen are "a strategic mistake" and "threaten regional peace and security and cause the war to spread to Gaza".
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said this in New York yesterday evening, after the United States' announcement on the new raids.
Intense exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel
An intense exchange of fire was recorded this morning between Hezbollah and Israel between southern Lebanon and the Upper Galilee.
This was reported by Lebanese and Middle Eastern media, according to which several rockets were fired by Hezbollah against Israeli military positions.
Israel bombed Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon with artillery and air raids, in the towns of Aytarun, Blida, Shahin, Marwahin, Ramiye, Tayr Harfa and Mays al Jabal, in the western and eastern sectors of the Blue Line.
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