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JERUSALEM (NewsFirst) — Israel announced Friday that it has launched a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip, escalating its military campaign against the Hamas terror group that has been firing rockets at Israeli cities for over a week.
The Israeli military said the operation aims to destroy Hamas’s underground tunnel network and other infrastructure, as well as to rescue dozens of Israeli hostages held by the terror group. The military said it has deployed tanks, infantry, artillery and engineering units into Gaza, along with air and naval support.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the decision to send troops into Gaza was made after exhausting all other options and after Hamas rejected several ceasefire proposals. He said the operation will continue until Israel achieves its objectives of restoring security and deterrence, and freeing the hostages.
“We have no choice but to enter Gaza and deal a heavy blow to Hamas,” Bennett said in a televised address. “We will not let them terrorize our citizens, kidnap our soldiers and civilians, and use our humanitarian aid to build rockets and tunnels. We will do whatever it takes to defend ourselves and our people.”
Hamas, which rules Gaza, vowed to fight back and inflict heavy casualties on the Israeli forces. It said it has prepared for a ground invasion and has planted explosives and mines along the border. It also said it will continue to fire rockets at Israel until the blockade on Gaza is lifted and the prisoners are released.
“The Zionist enemy will pay a heavy price for its aggression and crimes against our people,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement. “We are ready to confront them with all our strength and resistance. We will not surrender or retreat. We will fight until victory or martyrdom.”
The ground offensive marks a dramatic escalation in the conflict that began on October 19, when Hamas fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response to an Israeli airstrike that killed a senior Hamas commander. Since then, more than 2,000 rockets have been fired at Israel, killing 12 people and injuring hundreds more. Israel has retaliated with hundreds of airstrikes on Gaza, killing more than 1,500 Palestinians, mostly Hamas fighters, according to the Israeli military.
The conflict has also sparked violence between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, as well as protests and clashes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The international community has called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to negotiations, but so far, no diplomatic breakthrough has been achieved.
