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Israel Orders Ground Operation in Gaza

IDF forces to deal ‘significant blow to Hamas’ terror infrastructure’

by
Stephanie Butnick
July 17, 2014
Israeli Merkava tanks, a D9 bulldozer and armoured personnel carriers (APC) roll near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on July 17, 2014. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Israeli Merkava tanks, a D9 bulldozer and armoured personnel carriers (APC) roll near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on July 17, 2014. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have ordered a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, escalating Operation Protective Edge, which has far the past 10 days been an air campaign, into a full scale military operation.

According to the AP, the IDF said in a statement their objective is to deal a “significant blow to Hamas’ terror infrastructure.”

Update: Haaretz reports that the IDF has requested 18,000 more reservists be called up for duty in case the operation expands.

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.