Israeli shellfire slammed into the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged no respite in attacks on Hamas and as residents of the coastal enclave mourned more dead in a war that has cost more than 20,000 Palestinian lives.
Israel is determined to pursue its goal of destroying Hamas despite global calls for a cease-fire in the 11-week-old war amid concerns the conflict could spread, with U.S. and Iran-aligned forces attacking each other elsewhere in the region.
Since Hamas made the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in the country's 75-year history on Oct. 7, Netanyahu has responded with an all-out assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza. On Tuesday, the Israeli military said 160 soldiers had so far been killed in Gaza since ground operations began on Oct. 20.