Israel begins Gaza ground offensive

Israeli ground troops backed by tanks and warplanes swept into Gaza on a mission to stamp out rocket fire that the Hamas leadership said Friday was doomed to fail.

The death toll amongst Palestinians soared to 260 and more than 2000 injured  as the Israeli offensive entered its 11th day, with the army bombarding Gaza by air and sea as well as from tanks massed along the border.

A Hamas spokesman said Israel would “pay a high price” for its actions. As Israel suffered its first military fatality, with the death of a soldier during the invasion.

Citing continued Hamas attacks, Israel said it was pressing ahead with an operation to destroy a network of tunnels riddling the Gaza strip, used for assembling rockets and staging cross border attacks.

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