The Israeli government yesterday evening ordered the army to begin the ground offensive on the Gaza Strip. Shortly thereafter, he also asked the army to mobilize 18 additional reservists.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu justified the decision with the "refusal by Hamas to accept the Egyptian plan for a ceasefire and with the continuation of rocket attacks against Israel". The goal of the Israeli government is to "deal a significant blow to the infrastructure of Hamas".
According to the Minister of Communications, Gilad Erdan, the operation aims to "destroy the tunnels" of the Islamic organization; as for a new occupation of the Gaza Strip, liberated by Israel in 2005, "it is not one of the objectives", but "it could be achieved".
The Israeli army began an intense bombardment of the Strip, from the air, from the sea and from tanks on the ground around 22pm last night. In many localities and also in Gaza City the electricity went out.
ABU MAZEN
Abu Mazen's reaction was immediate: the invasion will cause "further bloodshed" - said the Palestinian president from Il Cario - and will complicate the ongoing efforts to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas.
THE HAMAS REACTION
For its part, the Palestinian Islamic movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, denounced “a dangerous escalation, the consequences of which are incalculable. Israel will pay a high price: Hamas is ready to fight”. Thus spoke the spokesman of Hamas in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, immediately after the start of the Israeli offensive.
The exiled Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal, has instead stated that the invasion is doomed to failure: which is doomed to fail."
THE VICTIMS
What Israel launched yesterday evening is the first land operation since Operation Cast Lead, in 2008-2009, which ended in over 1.400 Palestinian deaths. On the 11th day since the start of the military operations there are 258 Palestinian victims and this morning we received news of the first Israeli soldier who fell. Of the last six people killed, four are members of the same Palestinian family from Khan Yunis, in the south of the Strip.
Two more people were killed in Beit Hanun in the north, Palestinian emergency room spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. Among the victims there is also a five-month-old baby, who died under Israeli fire in Rafah, on the border with Egypt. According to sources at the Gaza-based Palestinian Human Rights Organization, more than 80 percent of the victims are civilians. The Palestinian wounded are 1.920.
MOGHERINI
"With the ground operation launched in Gaza by the Israeli army, following Hamas's rejection of the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, the situation risks spiraling out of control". This was stated by Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, who arrived yesterday evening in Amman, the capital of Jordan, after a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
"It is more urgent than ever to reach an immediate ceasefire", added the minister, who will be in Cairo this afternoon.
