Israeli Army launches ground operation against Gaza Strip with infantry and armoured units 1807141

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Defence & Security News - Israel
 
 
Friday, July 18, 2014 08:10 AM
 
Israeli Army launches ground operation against Gaza Strip with infantry and armoured units.
Israeli army ground troops backed by tanks and warplanes swept into Gaza on a mission to stamp out rocket fire coming from the Gaza Strip. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the operation after days of intensive rocket fire and air strikes between the two sides.
     

Israeli army soldiers with M113 armoured personnel carrier near the Gaza border
     
Israel approved the drafting of 18,000 more reservists on Thursday evening, bringing the total of extra troops called up since 8 July to 65,000.

Netanyahu's office instructed the army to prepare for the offensive after Hamas rejected a cease-fire proposal from Egypt, The Associated Press reports.

The army has not provided details about the scope of the operation or the number of troops involved. A statement from the Israeli military did say the operation will include "infantry, armored corps, engineer corps, artillery and intelligence combined with aerial and naval support."

Signaling that the initial phase of the ground attack would be limited, a statement put out by the Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon directed the IDF to prepare to expand the ground operation.

Infantry, Armored Corps, Engineering Corps, artillery and intelligence units are taking over various areas in Gaza, and are all working with one another and the air force. They are operating in central, and southern Gaza, where Hamas has dug an extensive terrorist tunnel network. The IDF’s Southern Command is overseeing the ground offensive.

The units involved have undergone intensive training recently ahead of their missions, Brig.-Gen. Moti Almoz, IDF spokesman, said on Thursday night.

Ground forces are currently engaging terrorist infrastructure, and the operation “will be expanded as needed,” Almoz said. “They’re moving now in various areas of Gaza. We will continue to attack in every location we think needs to be struck.”