Israeli troops on the Israel-Gaza border on Saturday. A ground operation began after a week of intensive attacks by air and naval forces. Yossi Aloni/Associated PressFrom The New York Times:
JERUSALEM — Israeli tanks and troops swept across the border into Gaza on Saturday night, opening a ground war against the militant group Hamas after a week of intense airstrikes.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the objective of the ground campaign was “to destroy the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas,” the militant Islamic group that controls the area, “while taking control of some of the rocket launching sites” that Hamas uses to fire at southern Israel.
“This will not be short. this will not be easy. I do not wish to delude anyone,” Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, said in a televised statement, adding that the coming days will be difficult for the residents of southern Israel.
The United Nations Security Council called a special meeting for 7 p.m. Saturday in New York to discuss the Middle East crisis.
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