An Israeli military vehicle runs to
north Gaza Strip after Israel started the ground operation on Jan. 3,
2009. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Saturday evening began its ground
operation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, an IDF spokesman told Chinese media.
(Chinese media/Yin Bogu)
Photo Gallery
JERUSALEM, Jan. 3 (Chinese media) -- As the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF)Cast Lead operation entered its eighth day, the IDF Saturday evening
began its ground incursion into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, vowing to
destroy "terror infrastructure" of Hamas.
"On Saturday evening, the IDF began its ground
incursion into Gaza," an IDF spokesman told Chinese media on the phone, saying that
Cast Lead operation is now entering the second stage.
The purpose of the ground incursion is to destroy
"terror infrastructure of Hamas," said the spokesman, adding that the IDF
soldiers have entered Gaza and exchanged fire with Palestinian militants in
Gaza.
Firelight is seen after an explosion in
north Gaza Strip after Israel started the ground operation on Jan. 3,
2009. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Saturday evening began its ground
operation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, an IDF spokesman told Chinese media.
(Chinese media/Yin Bogu)
Photo Gallery
"The incursion will last as long as necessary in
order to achieve the goals of the operation," he noted.
Local daily Ha'aretz quoted IDF Major Avital
Leibovitch, a military spokeswoman, as saying that "the objective is to destroy
the Hamas terror infrastructure in the area of operations."
"We are going to take some of the launch areas used
by Hamas," she said.
The IDF spokesperson's office issued a statement,
emphasizing that this stage of the operation will further the goals of the
eight-day offensive as voiced by the IDF until now: to strike a direct and hard
blow against Hamas while increasing the deterrent strength of the IDF, in order
to bring about an improved and more stable security situation for residents of
southern Israel over the long term.
Meanwhile, Ha'aretz reported that Israeli government
has approved the call-up of tens of thousands of IDF reservists.
A statement issued by Israeli Prime Minister's office
said that in accordance with a secret cabinet discussion Friday, the government
ordered the armed forces "to draft the necessary reservists, on a scale of tens
of thousands of troops."
Shortly after IDF soldiers entered Gaza, Israeli
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the IDF operation in Gaza will be neither
short nor easy.
Barak, who made the remarks while addressing the
nation in a special televised press conference, told the nation that Israel was
not eager to wage war, but could not abandon its citizens, residents of the
south, who have been victimized by Hamas rockets.
Smoke trails of an Israeli air force jet
is seen above the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Jan. 3, 2009. Israeli
artillery shelled Gaza Strip on Saturday, following with the ground
offensive. (Chinese media/Yin Bogu)
Photo Gallery
"The campaign won't be easy and it won't be short,"
he said, noting that the operation entails the risking of Israeli lives. "I know
well the dangers that come with an offensive, and what the heavy price will be."
"I don't want to fool anyone. The residents of
southern Israel will also undergo some tough times," the defense minister
continued.
He also addressed the possibility of an escalation in
violence in northern Israel, along the border with Lebanon, saying that "we hope
that the northern front will remain calm, but we are prepared for any
possibility."
Hours before the IDF ground incursion, the IDF fired
artillery shells into Gaza, which was the first artillery fire since the Cast
Lead Operation starting last Saturday.
According to local news service Ynet, IDF artillery
cannons began pounding the eastern sector of the Gaza Strip around 4 p.m. (1400
GMT) Saturday.
This is the first time in three years that the IDF
has fired artillery shells at Gaza targets, said Ynet, adding that most shells
landed in what the Palestinians characterize as the "security zone" close to the
Gaza Strip fence.
According to Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency
and ambulance services in the Palestinian health ministry, the Cast Lead
operation has so far claimed 462 Palestinians.
Israeli soldiers guard at Gaza border
after Israel started the ground operation on Jan. 3, 2009. The Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) Saturday evening began its ground operation in the
Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, an IDF spokesman told Chinese media. (Chinese media/Yin
Bogu)
Photo
Gallery
Hamas: Israeli army clash with Gaza
militants
GAZA, Jan. 3 (Chinese media) -- Israeli soldiers and Gaza
militants exchanged fire in northern and eastern Gaza Strip on Saturday night,
Gaza ruler Hamas said.
The movement said in a statement that heavy exchange of
fire and armed clashes took place between Gaza militants and Israeli ground
forces which launched ground incursions into the densely populated enclave on
Saturday night. Full story
Israel' Barak says Gaza operation not
to be short, easy
JERUSALEM, Jan. 3 (Chinese media) -- Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
operation against Palestinian militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip will
be neither short nor easy, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Saturday evening.
Barak made the remarks while addressing the nation in a
special televised press conference following the launch of the IDF ground
incursion. Full story
UN Security Council to call emergency
meeting as Israeli forces enter
Gaza
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 3
(Chinese media) -- The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on Saturday
evening, hours after Israel launched a ground invasion into Gaza, UN officials
said here.
On the eighth day of Israeli bombing raids on Gaza,
Israeli troops have entered the area, according to media reports.
Egypt denounces Israel for its ground
operation in Gaza
CAIRO,
Jan. 3 (Chinese media) -- Egypt on Saturday night strongly condemned Israel for
launching its ground operation in the Gaza Strip earlier in the evening, the
official MENA news agency reported.
In a presidential statement, Egypt called on Israel to
stop its attacks against Gaza "immediately," warning Israel of the consequences
of sending ground troops into Gaza.
Israeli DM: Gaza ground incursion aims
to stop hostile aggression of Hamas
JERUSALEM, Jan. 3 (Chinese media) -- The aim of ongoing Gaza
ground incursion is to stop the hostile aggression of the enemy, Israeli Defense
Minister Ehud Barak said Saturday evening.
"We don't want war, but we won't abandon citizens
victimized by Hamas," Barak was quoted by local daily Ha'aretz as saying shortly
after the ground incursion began.
462 Palestinians killed, 2300 wounded in 8 days of Israeli
offensive on Gaza: official
GAZA, Jan. 3 (Chinese media) -- A total of 462 Palestinians were
killed and more than 2300 others injured during the past eight days in the
ongoing Israeli military offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, a senior
Palestinian official said on Saturday.
Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance
services in the Palestinian health ministry, told reporters that the death tolls
include 76 children and 38 women, and among the injured, 600of them are in
critical conditions. Full
story
Tens of thousands protest in Britain over Gaza strikes
LONDON, Jan. 3 (Chinese media) -- Tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations in central London and across the country on Saturday against the Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
Up to 10,000 demonstrators took to the streets in London, hurling shoes at the gates of Downing Street in protest against the Israeli bombing which have been killing people for days.
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