The Israeli military said Wednesday that it had launched “targeted ground activities” in Gaza, partially recapturing a key area in the territory, a day after launching an aerial bombardment of the strip that shattered the two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas.
The operation began a day after Israel renewed its bombardment of Gaza, shattering the fragile ceasefire with Hamas. Israel accused Hamas of “repeatedly” refusing to release hostages and rejecting offers from mediators. Hamas, in turn, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of unilaterally upending the truce and putting hostages “at risk of an unknown fate.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Wednesday that its troops “began targeted ground activities in the central and southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone and to create a partial buffer between northern and southern Gaza.”
“As part of the ground activities, the troops expanded their control further to the center of the Netzarim Corridor,” the military said. (CNN)