The Israeli military has begun a ground offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, stepping up its 11-day-old military operation.

Troops and tanks were sent into Gaza to deal „a significant blow to Hamas”, Israel said.

A Hamas spokesman said Israel would „pay a high price” for its actions.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the invasion after days of intensive rocket fire and air strikes between the two sides.

Gaza’s health ministry said 24 Palestinians had been killed and 200 injured since the ground offensive began on Thursday night.

A five-month-old child was among the dead, Palestinian medics told AFP news agency. Israel said it had killed 14 „terrorists” overnight.

Israel meanwhile suffered its first military fatality, with the death of a soldier during the invasion, it said.

Some 258 Palestinians – three-quarters of them civilians – have died since the start of the wider Israeli operation on 8 July, officials in Gaza say.

An Israeli civilian was killed from mortar fire, and several Israelis have been seriously injured, Israeli medics say.

‘Heavy clashes’

Announcing the ground offensive, 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”.

In Gaza City overnight, plumes of black smoke could be seen from the border area where Israeli troops were operating, AP news agency reported.
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Source: bbc.co.uk