Israel starts Gaza ground offensive
BBC World News - 17 July 2014 Last updated at 22:25 ET
Smoke rises from flares in Gaza as Israel announces a ground offensive
The Israeli military has begun a ground offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, stepping up its 10-day-old military operation.
It said it was in response to continued militant rocket fire and to strike a "significant blow to Hamas", which controls Gaza.
Hamas said Israel would pay a high price for the ground offensive.
There had been a five-hour humanitarian truce on Thursday, but exchanges of fire resumed when it ended.
Gaza's health ministry says 247 Palestinians have died since since the Israeli operation began on 8 July. It says more than three quarters of them were civilians.
One Israeli has died as a result of rocket fire from Gaza and several have been injured.
At least five Palestinians were killed on Thursday evening after the start of the ground offensive began, Palestinian authorities said.
They included a five-month-old in the town of Rafah, medical officials told AFP news agency.
Israel withdrew ground troops from the Gaza strip in September 2005, and last mounted a major ground operation in 2009.
Tunnels
In a statement, the Israeli military said: "Following 10 days of Hamas attacks by land, air and sea, and after repeated rejections of offers to de-escalate the situation, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has initiated a ground operation within the Gaza Strip."
It said the goal was to "establish a reality in which Israeli residents can live in safety and security without continuous indiscriminate terror, while striking a significant blow to Hamas' terror infrastructure".
Military spokesman Gen Moti Almoz said: "I ask the residents of Gaza to evacuate the areas in which the army is operating. This operation will be extended as much as necessary."
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.
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said that the Israeli ground operation was "destined to failure".
"What the occupier Israel failed to achieve through its air and sea raids, it will not be able to achieve with a ground offensive", he said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the ground operation would lead to "more bloodshed" and called on Israel to stop.
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BBC News - Israel starts Gaza ground offensive
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I can just see Hamas now, shitting its pants...
Let the games begin...