From Al Jazeera...
Israel begins Gaza ground offensive
Israeli soldiers entered Gaza after seven
days of bombing by warplanes [Reuters]
The Israeli army has entered the Gaza Strip as it escalated its offensive on the eighth day of operations.
A column of tanks entered the besieged territory though the Beit Hanoun crossing shortly after nightfall on Saturday, as the Israeli cabinet said it had called up about 9,000 reservists as part of its preparations.
Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent on the Israeli-Gaza border, said that he had witnessed the movement of tanks and armoured vehicles in the area.
As the offensive entered its eighth day Palestinian medical sources say 464 Palestinians have died and more than 2000 have been injured.
In the latest incident on Saturday an Israeli strike on a northern Gaza town killed at least 11 people, including one child, who were praying in a mosque.
Four Israelis have also been killed in rocket fire into southern Israel.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, said on Saturday that the operation was aimed at forcing Hamas "to stop its hostile activities against Israel and bring about significant change".
"We have carefully weighed all our options, we are not war hungry but we should not allow a situation where our towns are constantly targeted by Hamas," he said.
Zeina Awad, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said Israeli media was reporting that several Hamas fighters had been killed at the start of the ground offensive.
The Reuters news agency said a senior Hamas official has said that its fighters had killed a number of Israeli soldiers but there was no word from Israel on any casualties.
Hamas has vowed to defeat the Israeli army following the invasion.
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I really appreciate Al Jazeera's reporting, unlike CNN's shitty reporting.
Israeli soldiers entered Gaza after seven
days of bombing by warplanes [Reuters]
The Israeli army has entered the Gaza Strip as it escalated its offensive on the eighth day of operations.
A column of tanks entered the besieged territory though the Beit Hanoun crossing shortly after nightfall on Saturday, as the Israeli cabinet said it had called up about 9,000 reservists as part of its preparations.
Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent on the Israeli-Gaza border, said that he had witnessed the movement of tanks and armoured vehicles in the area.
As the offensive entered its eighth day Palestinian medical sources say 464 Palestinians have died and more than 2000 have been injured.
In the latest incident on Saturday an Israeli strike on a northern Gaza town killed at least 11 people, including one child, who were praying in a mosque.
Four Israelis have also been killed in rocket fire into southern Israel.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, said on Saturday that the operation was aimed at forcing Hamas "to stop its hostile activities against Israel and bring about significant change".
"We have carefully weighed all our options, we are not war hungry but we should not allow a situation where our towns are constantly targeted by Hamas," he said.
Zeina Awad, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said Israeli media was reporting that several Hamas fighters had been killed at the start of the ground offensive.
The Reuters news agency said a senior Hamas official has said that its fighters had killed a number of Israeli soldiers but there was no word from Israel on any casualties.
Hamas has vowed to defeat the Israeli army following the invasion.
__________________________________________________________________
I really appreciate Al Jazeera's reporting, unlike CNN's shitty reporting.