Israeli Troops Launch Attack on Gaza
By ISABEL KERSHNER and TAGHREED EL-KHODARY
JERUSALEM — Israeli tanks and troops swept across the border into Gaza on Saturday night, opening a ground war against the militant group Hamas after a week of intense airstrikes.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the objective of the ground campaign was “to destroy the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas,” the militant Islamic group that controls the area, “while taking control of some of the rocket launching sites” that Hamas uses to fire at southern Israel.
“This will not be short. this will not be easy. I do not wish to delude anyone,” Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, said in a televised statement, adding that the coming days will be difficult for the residents of southern Israel.
The United Nations Security Council called a special meeting for 7 p.m. Saturday in New York to discuss the Middle East crisis.
The ground campaign brought new risks and the prospect of significantly higher casualties on both sides in a conflict that, even before the ground war started, had already taken the lives of more than 430 Palestinians and four Israelis.
While a ground campaign in densely populated Gaza is likely to increase the civilian death toll there, the Israeli Army also faces new threats. Hamas has had 18 months since Israel withdrew from the territory to smuggle in more lethal weapons against tanks and troops. Its more sophisticated arsenal has been on display over the last weeks, as it has launched scores of longer range rockets from Gaza into Israeli cities.
Israeli officials said they want to strike a hard blow against Hamas, improve Israeli deterrence and significantly change the security situation in southern Israel, where residents have been plagued by rocket fire out of Gaza for years.
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re:suprise
Israel has everyright to fight back against the Palistinians that have been firing rockets into them for weeks violating a cease fire agreement, why does everyone write articles that make Israel out to be the killers when they are just defending themselves????? Let's get logical and look at who is at fault for this violence! Print this~!
Obliterate hamas no peace
Obliterate hamas no peace just down right destroy them no mercy no recourse nothing of the sort works with them they view it as weakness just obliterate them all. Thats the only way it will stop to crush them into the ground they will never give up and will fight till they die even if that means killing hundreds of innocent israels children in their eyes its ok...... Dont bother with troops just bomb them into th ground israel has suffered enough emotional damage fomr this missles attacks and should be unmerciful shame on those who forget how palastines have treated israel since the beginning from hostage taking to olympic murders to now constant attacks burn that place down .
Thats the only way it will
Thats the only way it will stop to crush them into the ground they will never give up and will fight till they die even if that means killing hundreds of innocent israels children in their eyes its ok....
So how many Israeli children have been killed in the past few months by Hamas rocket attacks? How many Palestinian children have been killed in the past week as a result of Israeli bombings in the Gaza strip?
reply
this is a reply to the person calling for 'óbliteration'of the palestinians
i can only guess u must be an israeli.
you feel u are justified to call for genocide of people in their land.well i am not surprised.i have long stopped feeling shocked about the way jews were almost annahilated under the NAZIS--make no mistake,those israelis that murder countless palestinian civilians,their neighbours, in the name of hatred are one and the same thing with the NAZIS that would have literally obliterated them(the jews )if the 2nd world war continued.
if u feel the israelis have every right to commit genocide,then u can also say that hitler and the nazis had every right to do what they did and should not be viewed as war criminals at all, for the israelis have turned back and done the same to their palestinian neighbours and have the impetus to justify it!
finally,no one has to work hard to make israelis look bad.like old wisdom has it-'by their fruits ye shall know them'.
kill em all
I hope isreal takes action and beats down these rats. They infest the world with hate and need to be wiped off the face of the earth. Muslum scum thast all they are. If you are offended by my comments, too bad, join the rats in hell!
no need for rockets
you think that if you crush hamas into the ground that it will stop you from being scared
will think again coz the one who begin this was Israel not Plastin
and the one who is injustice will remain in his fear coz all the ppl will disgrace him for the eternity
no need for the rockets to keep you in fear your criminal actions will remain in the ppl mind so they will remember what is Israel
and that is what will keep you in fear ( ppl will not respect israeli ppl for what they are doing now)
keep taht in mind
Did you use your brain to think?
Hey bullshit,can't you see what israeli had done to the poor palestinian?they kill so many innocent people you ass, kids are their victim, women,imagine you have children and they are killed just because the fucking israeli say they wana protect their country, ISRAEl is NOT A COUNTRY, they dont have one! they invade palestine and kil many people and throw them away from their own country, israeli say that is their country,what a bullshit is that? and killing several hundred innocent people compare to their people kill only 4, hey open your eyes fucker