Israel military set to approve plans for Gaza ground invasion as world leaders urge calm Bel Trew
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The Israeli military is set to approve on Thursday plans for a possible ground invasion of Gaza, as overnight it intensified its strikes on the blockaded strip where militants fired back dozens of rockets.
Brigadier General Hidai Zilberman, a Hebrew spokesman for the army, told Israeli media that the details are being drawn up by Gaza Division and Southern Command ready to be presented to Israel’s political leadership for sign off, the first step in taking such an action.
Rockets have streamed out of Gaza as Israel pounded the territory with air strikes in the most severe outbreak of violence in the Middle East since the 50-day war in 2014.
Gaza’s Hamas rulers and other militant groups have fired hundreds of rockets that have at times overwhelmed Israel’s missile defences, causing explosions and air raid sirens to echo across Tel Aviv and other cities.
Israeli air strikes have levelled two apartment towers in the Gaza Strip, where two million Palestinians have lived under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas took power in 2007.
Warning shots have allowed civilians to evacuate the buildings, but the material losses will be immense. Israel faced heavy criticism over this tactic during the 2014 war.
By Press Association 2021
People inspect the rubble of a damaged building which was hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City
Rockets have streamed out of Gaza and Israel has pounded the territory with air strikes as the most severe outbreak of violence since a 2014 war took on many hallmarks of that devastating 50-day conflict.
Palls of grey smoke rose in Gaza, as Israeli air strikes levelled two apartment towers and hammered the militant group’s multiple security installations, destroying the central police compound.
In Israel, barrages of hundreds of rockets fired by Gaza’s Hamas rulers and other militants at times overwhelmed missile defences and brought air raid sirens echoing across Tel Aviv, Israel’s biggest metropolitan area, and other cities.
The escalation in the conflict was sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem.
Since sundown on Monday when the cross-border attacks began, 24 Palestinians – including nine children – were killed in Gaza, most by air strikes, Gaza health officials said.
The Israeli military said 15 of the dead were militants.
During the same period, Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets towards Israel, injuring six Israeli civilians in a direct hit on an apartment building.
In a further sign of rising tensions, Israel signalled it is widening its military campaign.
The military said it is sending troop reinforcements to the Gaza border and the defence minister ordered the mobilisation of 5,000 reserve soldiers.
The escalation in the conflict was sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem.
Since sundown on Monday when the cross-border attacks began, 24 Palestinians – including nine children – were killed in Gaza, most by air strikes, Gaza health officials said.
The Israeli military said 15 of the dead were militants.
During the same period, Gaza militants fired more than 250 rockets towards Israel, injuring six Israeli civilians in a direct hit on an apartment building.
In a further sign of rising tensions, Israel signalled it is widening its military campaign.
The military said it is sending troop reinforcements to the Gaza border and the defence minister ordered the mobilisation of 5,000 reserve soldiers.