The Israeli military said on Tuesday that 21 soldiers had been killed in Gaza a day earlier, the highest number in a single day since the start of its ground campaign on October 27.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement that most of the soldiers were killed when rocket-propelled grenade fire hit a tank and a building they were trying to storm.
Hagari said many of the soldiers killed were reserve soldiers.
“We worked until the last hours to find the victims,” Hagari said, indicating the difficulty in retrieving bodies buried under the debris.
“Our reservists sacrificed what they loved most, so that we can all live here in complete safety,” he said.