The Israeli army has launched a massive attack with air forces and tanks in Gaza Strip. These are the hardest bombings against the Strip since Operation Protective Edge in 2014. The attack occurred simultaneously in the North and South of the Strip. Palestinian families have fled from the north due to what is described as a veritable deluge of fire. At first the Israeli army had made it known that it had also entered the Palestinian area by land, only to reverse and explain that behind the announcement there was “an internal communication problem”. In recent days, no more than 4,000 soldiers had been amassed at the border.
The prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Hamas it will pay a high price for the missile launches against the Israeli population that “the operation will continue for as long as necessary”. “We will act with all our strength against the enemies outside and against the outlaws inside to restore calm to the State of Israel”. The premier also spoke of the other front, that of riots in Israeli cities: “We support the police and the rest of the security forces one hundred percent to restore law and order to the cities of Israel. We will not tolerate anarchy.” Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians continue in several Israeli cities. In Musmus, near Haifa, police arrested 12 residents for stone throwing and damage. Two other people armed with knives were arrested in Tel Aviv, reports the Times of Israel. Another 13 arrests in Beersheba.
Hamas has made it known that it has launched tonight one fifty rockets towards Israel, dozens of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, the Times of Israel reported. In the sights of the attacks are Ashdod, Beersheba and other locations. The Israeli defense forces have ordered “all the population within 4 kilometers of the border with Gaza to reach” a rocket shelter and remain there until further notice. “
“The spiral of violence in the Middle East must end,” tweeted the French president Emmanuel Macron a few minutes after the news of the ground attack launched by Israel. “I make a strong appeal for a ceasefire and dialogue. I ask you for calm and peace”.
The gaffe of the land invasion announced and then denied
The Times of Israel try to explain the clamorous gaffe of the Israeli army, which tonight has through a spokesperson first announced the start of operations of land in Gaza e after a couple of hours he specified that the troops had never entered in the Strip, citing “an internal communication problem”. “The Israeli Defense Forces – writes the newspaper on its website – appear to have mistakenly led the foreign media to believe that the army had launched a land invasion of the Strip during its massive bombing of northern Gaza. In its statement initial in English, the army ambiguously expressed where its ground forces were during the attack, saying that “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.” When asked to clarify the question, that is, if there had been a land invasion, the army spokesman Jonathan Conricus he replied: ‘Yes. As it is written in the statement. Indeed, the ground forces are attacking Gaza. This means that they are in the Strip. ‘”But, the Times of Israel continues, although to say that the army was inside Gaza” was technically correct “, it was misleading:” Some IDF troops were actually positioned in an enclave technically within the territory of Gaza, but for all intents and purposes under Israeli control. This is why their presence there could not represent a land invasion “.
UN meeting on Sunday to discuss the escalation
The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, announced that Sunday will meet on Security Council UN to discuss the ongoing escalation between Israel and the Gaza Strip. “The UN Security Council will meet on Sunday to discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza”, he wrote on Twitter, noting that “the United States will continue to actively engage in diplomatic action at the highest level to try to bring back tensions “. In the past few hours, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blink, had indicated that the United States would be available to attend the meeting early next week.
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