Israel suffers heaviest military losses since October

(Patria) - Israel on Wednesday reported its heaviest combat losses in more than a month after an ambush in the rubble of Gaza City, Reuters reported.

Intense fighting is underway both in the north and south of Gaza, a day after the United Nations called for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire. US President Joe Biden said that Israel's "indiscriminate" bombing of civilians is costing the country international support.

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Wednesday that at least 18,608 people have been killed and 50,594 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. It is feared that many thousands more are lost under the rubble or beyond the reach of ambulances.

Since a week-long truce collapsed in early December, Israeli forces have expanded their ground campaign from the northern part of the Gaza Strip to the south with an assault on the main southern city of Khan Younis. Meanwhile, fighting has only intensified amid the rubble in the north, where Israel had earlier said its military objectives were largely met.

Israel reported ten of its soldiers killed in the last 24 hours, including a colonel who commanded a forward base and a lieutenant colonel who commanded a regiment. It was the largest single-day loss since 15 were killed on October 31.

Most were killed in the Shejaia neighborhood of Gaza City in the north, where soldiers walked into an ambush while trying to rescue another group of soldiers who had attacked fighters in a building, the military said. Hamas said it showed that Israeli forces can never subdue Gaza: "The longer you stay there, the greater your death toll and losses will be, and you will leave with a tail of disappointment and loss, God willing."

Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told Reuters that Israel will not stop fighting until it destroys Hamas's infrastructure. There is no exact date for the end of the campaign, he said.