Israel experienced the most tragic day of the war after October 7
: the massacre of 21 of its soldiers which plunged the country into deep despair.
The soldiers, all reservists, were killed in the Almaazi area, in the center of Gaza, by a team of the Al Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas - in the explosion of two buildings triggered, apparently, by the launch of an anti-tank rocket.
The soldiers - around 4pm on Monday, but the news only became known today - were undermining the two buildings as part of the creation of a buffer zone close to the border with Gaza in order to allow the inhabitants to return safely to the kibbutzim now get displaced.
The rocket - whose launch was claimed by Hamas - targeted an Israeli tank that was protecting the soldiers.
At the same time, according to the reconstruction of the army spokesman Daniel Hagari, who announced the opening of an investigation, the explosive charges exploded inside the two buildings, killing the soldiers: the most likely hypothesis is that the detonation of the mines was was somehow activated by the first anti-tank rocket launched, or by a second.
Hamas published a video in the evening depicting the attack where 21 Israeli soldiers were killed
.
The video - reports Al Jazeera - begins with a Hamas fighter firing a mortar shell at a house, then picking up a grenade and throwing it at the front of a tank parked outside the building, which at that moment had been surrounded by smoke.
Then a caption appears that reads: This is "the moment a minefield is detonated" targeting "Israeli forces. Let's hope they're dead."
The death of 21 soldiers in one day had a wide echo in Israel
.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country had "experienced one of the heaviest days since the beginning of the conflict", but this did not mean that "Israel will stop fighting until total victory".
"This - commented Defense Minister Yoav Gallant - is a war that will establish the future of Israel in the decades to come. The death of those fighters must spur us to achieve our objectives".
The overall military death toll then rose to 24, with three more soldiers killed in the Strip in other contexts.
For further information ANSA Agency Guterres: new appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire - Middle East - Ansa.it 'The Israeli government's rejection of the two-state solution is unacceptable.
In Gaza, destruction unparalleled in recent history' (ANSA)
Meanwhile, Hamas reportedly rejected the Israeli proposal for a two-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of the hostages
.
According to an Egyptian source quoted by international media, the Palestinian faction has insisted that no more abductees will be released until Israel ceases its offensive and withdraws completely from Gaza.
The proposal revealed on Monday by the American website Axios also provided for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons and the authorization for Hamas leaders in the Strip to move to other countries.
But Qatar does not completely despair of opening new negotiations and the US has made it known that it is ready to support long humanitarian pauses (from 60 to 90 days) for the release of the hostages, even if in the future of Gaza "there cannot be Hamas " but not even "a reduction of the territory" of the Strip.
The White House has confirmed that US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk is visiting the region to talk about exactly this.
I n
the 109th of the war, the IDF completely surrounded Khan Yunis
, the Hamas stronghold in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Units of paratroopers, the Givati brigade and armored vehicles took part in the operation - which saw, according to the army, dozens of "terrorists killed" and the destruction of a kilometer-long tunnel in a residential neighborhood, assisted by units of commando.
The military spokesman in Arabic Avichai Adraee said that for "security" reasons the army invited the inhabitants of 6 districts of the city to evacuate, via Al-Bahar Street, towards the not far away "humanitarian zone" of Moassi on the sea .
The Palestinian Red Crescent accused the IDF of having opened fire on its ambulances
which were transporting the wounded to Kahn Yunis, while the Nasser Hospital remains surrounded for the second day, where the army reported that in recent days there had been shootings against the soldiers.
According to military analysts, the IDF's next step will be towards Rafah, which is close to Egypt.
While those killed in Gaza - according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between civilian and militia deaths - have reached 25,490, Unicef Palestine has stated that "more than 1,000 children" have been mutilated in the Strip due to the bombings .
The story of the former hostages to the Knesset: 'Women and men raped in the tunnels under Gaza'
A former woman hostage in Gaza, later released, and her daughter told a Knesset commission that "women and men are raped by terrorists in the tunnels under the Strip".
"The terrorists - said the woman, quoted by the media - bring doll clothes for the girls. They have transformed the girls into their dolls, with which they can do whatever they want."
Another former female hostage also reported that "there are girls there without menstruating 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."
For further information ANSA Agency "Women dressed as dolls and raped in the tunnels" - War in the Middle East - Ansa.it Dramatic reports of systematic sexual abuse practiced by Hamas on Israeli hostages, male and female, in the tunnels where they have been held prisoner for over 100 days came to a Knesset commission from former prisoners who were released in November (ANSA)
The White House: 'Open to long humanitarian pauses in Gaza'
The United States is open to supporting long humanitarian pauses for the release of hostages and the delivery of additional aid to Gaza.
This was stated by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, responding to those who asked him if he would support pauses of 30 or 60 or 90 days.
Kirby also noted that yesterday was "a terrible day for the IDF (the Israeli army, ed.) in terms of losses".
Kirby made clear, however, that whatever the future of Gaza may be, it cannot include the leaders of Hamas.
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.
Unicef: 'More than 1000 children mutilated in Gaza'
"In Gaza, according to news reaching us, more than 1,000 children have suffered the loss of a limb due to the bombing, profoundly changing their lives."
Unicef Palestine writes it on X.
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.
New US-UK raids in Yemen.
The Houthis: 'We will respond'
The Americans and British have returned to strike the Houthis in Yemen
.
Joint raids, for the second time in just over ten days, which targeted various objectives in the territory controlled by the Shiite movement.
Washington and London have reiterated that they want to prevent attacks on Western merchant ships in the Red Sea, without opening a new war front, but the pro-Iranian militias have invariably promised that they will not stand by and watch.
And
Tehran warned the US
: "You are making a strategic mistake."
During the night between Monday and Tuesday, the Prosperity Guardian task force went into action, bombing eight Houthi sites that hid "missile and launch systems, air defense systems, radars and weapons storage facilities", a statement from the Anglo-American-led multinational operation.
Specifying that the raids served to "weaken the arsenal used to endanger global trade and the lives of innocent sailors".
It is the second wide-ranging military action after that of January 12, which was followed by targeted strikes by the USA alone.
The latest blitz in Yemen was preceded by a phone call between Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak, in which the two leaders "reaffirmed their commitment to freedom of navigation".
In a phase in which, according to London estimates, the Houthis have attacked 12 cargo ships in the last ten days, more than 30 since November, in retaliation against Israel after the invasion of Gaza.
British diplomatic chief David Cameron will visit the region in the coming days and is working with the United States on new sanctions against the Houthis.
The de facto masters of Yemen have reacted to the US and UK raids by issuing yet another challenge: "They will not go unpunished".
While their main sponsor, Iran, underlined that Western attacks are counterproductive because they "threaten regional security and cause the war to spread to Gaza".
At the time of the bombing, "satellite images showed 230 commercial ships and oil tankers in the Red Sea," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.
The EU, like the US and Great Britain, is also alarmed by the actions of the Houthis, which have caused a "decrease in container traffic in the Red Sea by 22% this month", said Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
According to which "at the moment there are no visible impacts on energy prices, or on the prices of goods, but there are already effects on the price of transport".
To deal with this crisis, Brussels is working to make the Aspides naval mission operational as soon as possible, after the political green light at the last Foreign Affairs Council.
In this new operation, which will have defensive tasks, Rome is at the forefront.
Because "Italy is an exporting country and therefore we have the duty, and we will, to protect merchant ships", reiterated the minister Antonio Tajani.
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.
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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