In response to a new barrage of rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, Israel said it sent ground forces into action and pounded Gaza on Friday. The conflict has now claimed over 100 Palestinian lives.
In a brief message, the Israeli army said that “Israeli planes and troops on the ground are carrying out an attack in the Gaza Strip.”
Army spokesman John Conricus confirmed the escalation, but did not specify the scope of the operation.
As the violence escalated, Israel’s security forces scrambled to quell deadly riots between Jews and Arabs, while projectiles from Lebanon were also fired at Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “deeply concerned about the violence in the streets of Israel”, voicing support for a United Nations Security Council meeting “early next week” on the crisis.
“We believe that Israelis and Palestinians deserve equal measures of freedom, security, dignity and prosperity,” Blinken said.
On Thursday night, there were heavy artillery exchanges, and AFP reporters saw Israeli troops assembling at the security barrier.
After strikes smashed into Gaza’s densely packed population, flames shot high into the sky.
Hundreds of rockets were fired from Gaza into the Israeli coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, as well as the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
“We are prepared, and continue to prepare for various scenarios,” Mr. Conricus said, describing a ground offensive as “one scenario”.
In Gaza, AFP photographers said people were evacuating their homes in the northeastern part of the enclave ahead of possible Israeli attacks, with Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, warning of a “heavy response” to a possible ground incursion.
‘Massive reinforcement’
With the conflict showing no signs of abating, Israel has been rocked by an unprecedented wave of mob violence, which has seen both Arabs and Jews brutally beaten and police stations attacked.
To quell the unrest, Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered a “massive reinforcement.”
The heavy shelling coincided with the start of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy fasting month, and saw the faithful pray in mosques and among the rubble of Gaza’s collapsed buildings.
The Israeli air force launched multiple air strikes against Hamas targets, with the air force claiming that jets hit a “military compound” of the group’s “intelligence headquarters.”
Since Monday, at least 103 people have been killed, including 27 children, and more than 580 have been injured, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Entire tower blocks have been brought down by heavy bombardment.
Seven people have been killed in Israel since Monday, including a six-year-old child, after a rocket hit a family’s home.
