Israeli military officials said Thursday that they had sent air and land forces to the Gaza Strip to combat Hamas, which has been firing rocket barrages since Monday. The conditions may worsen as Israeli troops enter Gaza.
Israel has already responded with air strikes, but the land assault represents another significant escalation in what officials have already defined as the biggest confrontation between Israelis and Palestinian militants since 2014.
Additionally, the Israeli Defense Forces reported that at least three additional rockets were fired by unknown individuals from Lebanon, which is in the north of Israel.
Israel also claimed responsibility for the assassination of more than a dozen Hamas military leaders and the destruction of a pair of high-rise towers during the country’s ferocious military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 100 Palestinians, including 27 teenagers, have been killed in the recent war.
Israel also lost a total of seven people, including a soldier and a six-year-old child.
As a consequence, the State Department has advised Americans against visiting the area.
QUICK FACTS
- Israel’s military said that it had deployed “air and land forces” into Gaza.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Biden government, and other international leaders have also called for a de-escalation of the situation.
- According to the IDF, at least three rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and some Palestinian militants run.
- Israel claimed to have assassinated more than a dozen senior Hamas figures.
