Medics say hundreds of patients and thousands of displaced people were unable to leave the main hospital in Khan Younis because of the fighting Wednesday. The Israeli military said its forces were battling militants there after encircling the city the day before.

On Tuesday, the military announced that militants killed 21 Israeli soldiers in the deadliest single attack of the ground war against Hamas. The combat casualties could add to mounting calls in Israel for a cease-fire.

Khan Younis, the second-largest city in Gaza, has seen heavy fighting in recent days. The Health Ministry says more than 25,400 people have been killed and another 63,000 wounded in the enclave since the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel in which militants from Gaza killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.

Currently:

— Rifts within Israel resurface as war in Gaza drags on. Some want elections now.

— Twenty-one Israeli soldiers are killed in the deadliest single attack on the army since the Gaza offensive began.

— U.N. chief warns that Israel’s rejection of a two-state solution threatens global peace.

— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Here’s the latest:

BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY WILL SEEK URGENT ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE IN VISIT WITH MIDDLE EAST LEADERS

London — British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is visiting the Middle East to meet with regional leaders this week to call for an “urgent humanitarian pause” in Gaza.

Cameron’s first stop Wednesday is Israel, where he is expected to raise concerns about the high number of civilian casualties in talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and push for water and electricity to be restored to Gaza. He will stress the need for more crossing points to enable more aid deliveries to Gaza, including the port at Ashdod and the Kerem Shalom crossing.

“No one wants to see this conflict go on a moment longer than necessary. An immediate pause is now necessary to get aid in and hostages out. The situation is desperate,” he said in a statement. He added that a permanent cease-fire would require Hamas to relinquish its hostages and control in Gaza, as well as an agreement for the Palestinian Authority to return to the enclave.

Cameron is expected to visit Qatar and Turkey later in the week.