ISRAELI ARMY HIT BY HEAVIEST LOSS
Hamas rocket attack kills 21 soldiers as buildings collapse
ISRAELI forces have suffered their biggest death toll in a single attack in the current war against Hamas with 21 soldiers killed in a strike.
The military said a rocket-propelled grenade fired at a tank set off a secondary explosion that brought two buildings down on the soldiers in the city of Khan Younis.
Despite ceasefire calls Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with trying to crush the militant group, despite over 25,000 Palestinians being killed.
He acknowledged it was “one of the hardest days” since the war began and said the military would launch an investigation.
He posted: “In the name of our heroes, and for our own lives, we will not stop fighting until absolute victory.” More than 60,000 Gazan Paletinians have been injured and in the West Bank more than 300 killed since the October Hamas attacks sparked war.
Just a day earlier families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza stormed the Knesset, demanding the government strike a deal for their release. And the
European Union has pushed for Palestinian statehood, rejecting Israeli leader’s insistence that it’s off the table.
In Lebanon Hezbollah militants launched missiles at a significant Israeli air base on Mount Meron for the second time in a month. The group said that yesterday’s barrage was in response to “recent assassinations in Lebanon and Syria, and the repeated attacks on civilians and homes” in southern Lebanon.
Israeli forces have repeatedly launched air-strikes on Hezbollah, even buzzing targets over Beirut in the hunt for Hezbollah leaders.
Israelis are increasingly divided on the question of whether it’s possible to do either, and large numbers of Israeli casualties have pressured Israel’s government to halt past military operations.
A senior Egyptian official meanwhile said Israel has proposed a two-month ceasefire in which the hostages would be freed in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and top Hamas leaders in Gaza would be allowed to relocate to other countries.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hamas rejected the proposal and is insisting that no more hostages will be released until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws
We’ll not stop fight until absolute victory BENJAMIN NETANYAHU YESTERDAY
from Gaza.