Gaza City (CNN)-- Hamas claimed it captured an Israeli soldier Sunday on the deadliest day yet in the battle between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
Ron Prosor, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, denied the report.
"There's no kidnapped Israeli soldier, and those rumors are untrue," he said.
According to Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, the soldier was taken during an early morning operation.
He provided the supposed soldier's name and ID.
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"He is a prisoner, and if Zionists lie about the dead and wounded, then the fate of this soldier is their responsibility," the spokesman said.
Gunfire and cheers erupted in Gaza in apparent celebration of the soldier's capture, according to CNN reporters on the ground.
"It's a game changer, immediately, because it's going to change what the Israelis are doing on the ground in that sector. They're going to be looking for him," said CNN military analyst Lt. Col. Rick Francona.
"Overall, the Israeli strategy is not going to change. They're committed to this mission," he said. Though, in the future, Francona said, the Israelis are "going to have to make some sort of accommodation to get this guy back."
In 2006, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured. He was released some five years later in exchange for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
Gaza battle's deadliest day for both sides
Eighty-seven Palestinians died, at least 60 of them in Israel's assault on the town of Shaja'ia, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
The IDF said 13 soldiers were killed. At a news conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed the country's "deep pain" at the loss of the soldiers.
Among those killed was Max Steinberg, a California native, according to the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Steinberg attended Pierce College and served as a sniper.
Sean Carmeli, an IDF soldier from South Padre Island, Texas, was also killed, according to Rachel Simony of the Congregation Shoova Israel in South Padre Island.
In total, 476 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel's military operations against Hamas on July 8, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It's unknown how many were militants. The United Nations has estimated that 70% were civilians.
The Health Ministry said 3,130 people have been wounded.
Since beginning ground operations Thursday, Israel said, it has killed at least 70 terrorists and captured others.
"We're doing everything we can not to harm the people of Gaza," Netanyahu added. "Hamas is doing everything they can to make sure the people of Gaza suffer."
But people in Gaza who spoke with CNN painted a different picture. "What is happening is a massacre," said a resident of the al-Remal neighborhood.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the deaths of the Israeli soldiers, saying it had lured tanks into a field in which it had hidden improvised explosive devices. The attack "destroyed the force completely," Hamas said, calling it a "heroic operation."
In total, 18 Israeli soldiers have been killed, in addition to two civilians. Israel has used its Iron Dome defense system to block many missiles, fired by militants in Gaza, from hitting population centers.
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