Israel suffers deadliest day of ground war as pressure mounts on government

Twenty-four soldiers were killed on Monday, with military spokesman Daniel Hagari saying 21 reservists were slain when rocket-propelled grenade fire hit a tank and two buildings they were trying to blow up.

The Israeli army said Tuesday (Jan 23) it had suffered its biggest single-day losses since the start of its ground war in Gaza amid growing pressure on the government to find a way to end the conflict.

The heavy clashes came as a White House official was due in the region for talks aimed at securing more hostage releases, and as US media reported a new Israeli proposal for a deal that would involve a two-month pause in fighting.

Twenty-four soldiers were killed on Monday, with military spokesman Daniel Hagari saying 21 reservists were slain when rocket-propelled grenade fire hit a tank and two buildings they were trying to blow up.

"We worked to find the victims until the last hours," Hagari said in a televised statement, pointing to the difficulty of extracting bodies buried under the rubble.

"Our reservists sacrificed what was dearest to them, so that we could all live here in complete safety."

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said "ground operations, fighting and attacks intensified" around Gaza's main southern city of Khan Younis.

The Israeli army said its forces had conducted multiple raids and taken control of Hamas command centres in the city.