Israel said Saturday its war on Hamas had 'entered a new phase' with a massive bombardment of Gaza as the Islamist group demanded the release of all Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages it seized three weeks ago.
Israel said Saturday its war on Hamas had "entered a new phase" with a massive bombardment of Gaza as the Islamist group demanded the release of all Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages it seized three weeks ago.
The conflict is the fifth and deadliest in Gaza since Israel unilaterally withdrew troops and settlers from the Palestinian territory in 2005. Israel has massed tens of thousands of troops along the Gaza border raising expectations of a full-blown invasion, with its soldiers making limited ground incursions on Wednesday and Thursday."Last night, the ground in Gaza shook. We attacked above the ground and below the ground," he said, alluding to the network of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza.
"The price to pay for the large number of enemy hostages in our hands is to empty the prisons of all Palestinian prisoners," Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said. Facing increasing anger over the fate of the captives as Israel steps up its war on Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to meet representatives of hostage relatives who demanded to know how the government would handle the crisis.
Israeli fighter jets hit 150 "terror tunnels, underground combat spaces and additional underground infrastructure" and "several Hamas terrorists were killed", the army said.AFP journalists in Gaza confirmed they were only able to communicate in limited areas where they could connect to Israeli networks across the border.
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