Israel on Wednesday stepped up its offensive in Gaza, asking 100,000 Palestinians to flee their homes and threatening ground operations, as the death toll in the airstrikes climbed to 213 with tensions escalating following failed Egyptian cease-fire efforts.
Thousands of people have fled their homes amid the bombardments, taking refuge in UN buildings, some of which have been damaged by the Israeli bombardments.The Israeli Defense Forces said on Wednesday that it warned residents of three areas in Gaza to vacate their homes because of its plans to carry out airstrikes on Hamas and other terrorist groups.
The IDF said it used recorded messages, text messages and leaflets to alert the populations in Beit lahyia, Shuja’iya and Zeitoun, places where it said “a high volume of rocket fire at Israel has originated.”Israel’s security cabinet has approved plans to destroy Hamas’s network of tunnels in Gaza, army radio said.
The cabinet also discussed the possibility of a limited ground incursion which would not initially involve entering towns, it said. “Israel has no option but to continue the operation and intensify it,” former national security adviser Giora Eiland told army radio.“The main dilemma is over a ground operation...It looks like we’re rolling in that direction, since air strikes have their limitations,” he said.
Hamas’ rockets continued to fizz over the border, and Israeli airstrikes kept slamming into buildings in Gaza as the death toll climbed higher.The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza in nine days of of Operation Protective Edge reached 213 — most of them civilians, according to the United Nations — with at least 1,560 wounded, Palestinian health authorities said.
The Israeli military accuses Hamas is taking the people of Gaza hostage by using places like houses, hospitals and schools to hide weapons.An Egypt mediated truce initiative on Tuesday failed to halt rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas militants and other groups who called it “capitulation and surrender”, choosing to continue with the attacks.