Israel announced that its troops were in the "heart of Khan Younis" - the main city in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Yesterday was reportedly the most intense day of fighting since the start of the war with Hamas, which began with a surprise and bloody attack by the radical Palestinian movement on October 7 in Israel.

The US has again called on Israel to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties.

According to Hamas representatives, over 16,000 people were killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign.

Israel said its forces, backed by warplanes, surrounded Khan Younis yesterday and reached the city center. Hamas's armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said it had engaged in violent clashes with the Israelis. According to the head of the Israeli army's Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, Israeli warplanes dropped hundreds of bombs and other munitions on Hamas positions. According to him, battles were fought in all parts of the enclave.

Meanwhile, the US reiterated that Israel must do more to get aid to Gaza's civilian population. "There's not enough fuel, there's not enough food, there's not enough water coming in," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He also announced that US visa sanctions would take effect immediately against anyone found to be acting to destabilize the West Bank. Washington has repeatedly told the Israeli government that it must take action to stop extremist settler violence.

Earlier, a representative of Hamas warned that the Islamist movement will not yet release the hostages it took in its attack in Israel nearly two months ago, and will not even hold talks on the issue until the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip stops.