Israel Begins 'Limited Ground Operations' in Gaza

Israel has started 'limited ground operations' inside the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced today. Soldiers belonging to the IDF entered several areas in Gaza, for the first time since the signing of the ceasefire back in January. Notably, the IDF moved along Salahuddeen street and took back control over the Netzarim Corridor, a narrow strip of land full of checkpoints set up by Israel last year to cut Gaza in half, in order to restrict the movement of civilians from northern Gaza to southern Gaza, including the Rafah crossing.

Additionally, forces from the IDF's elite 'Golani Brigade' have been put on standby, to prepare for a possible deployment in the South of Gaza. It is expected that ground operations will continue in the coming days, and reservists will likely be called up, to restart active combat operations against Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions.

Two days ago, at approximately 02:00 AM, Israeli fighter jets took off from bases across the country and started a surprise wave of airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip. At least 400 people were later confirmed to have been killed in these airstrikes, most of them women and children. Israel says the targets were high-ranking members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with at least some confirmation that several of the militant movements' leaders were indeed killed.

The airstrikes, along with the Israeli announcement to end the ceasefire, came as a shock to the international community. Israeli negotiators had been engaging in fierce discussions with Hamas and the mediators in Qatar and Egypt, as the two parties were supposed to reach an agreement on entering phase two of the ceasefire deal. Many analysts have called the nightly attacks 'cowardly' and 'evil', stating that it showed Israel's lack of interest in lasting peace in the region, and its total lack of commitment to the ceasefire deal.