Ambush kills 7 Israeli soldiers in Gaza City, where battles rage weeks into devastating offensive

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP): At least seven Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in Gaza City, Israeli media reported Wednesday, as the army continued to meet heavy resistance in an offensive against Hamas that has drawn international outrage and rare U.S. criticism over the killing of thousands of civilians.

President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly called on Israel to take greater measures to spare Palestinian civilians, even as it has blocked international calls for a cease-fire and rushed military aid to its close ally. Israel has rejected U.S. suggestions for a postwar plan that would revive the long-dormant peace process with the Palestinians.

The air and ground offensive has resulted in the deaths of over 18,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered the war. Nearly 85% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been forced to flee their homes, and much of northern Gaza resembles a moonscape.

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Israeli ground troops are still locked in heavy combat with Palestinian fighters in and around Gaza City, more than six weeks after soldiers invaded the north. Clashes raged overnight and into Wednesday in multiple areas, with especially heavy fighting in Shijaiyah, residents said.

“It’s terrifying. We couldn’t sleep,” Mustafa Abu Taha, a Palestinian agricultural worker who lives in the neighborhood, said by phone. “The situation is getting worse and we don’t have a safe place to go.”

The military said a total of eight soldiers were killed on Tuesday. Israeli media said the ambush that killed seven took place in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shijaiyah, involving gunfire and several explosions. The same dense neighborhood was the scene of one of the biggest battles of an earlier war in Gaza.