240 Gaza targets attacked since Thursday: Israeli army
Israel started a ground incursion into southern and northern the Palestinian strip late on Thursday
JERUSALEM
Israel's army said late on Friday that it managed to attack 240 targets in the Gaza Strip by air, land and sea since Thursday.
Israel started a ground incursion into southern and northern the Palestinian strip late on Thursday, following 11 days of aerial strikes, ones that left scores of Gaza residents killed and hundreds of others injured.
The Israeli army described the ground incursion as a "new phase" of its offensive, which it called "Operation Protective Edge", which it started on Gaza on July 7 with the stated aim of undermining the ability of Gaza resistance movements to fire rockets into Israel.
In a statement on Friday, the Israeli army said it managed to attack 240 targets inside Gaza since the beginning of the ground incursion.
The army added that its personnel also managed to trace ten Gaza tunnels that had 22 openings.
It said 53,200 reserve soldiers were called up to take part in the ground incursion into Gaza on Thursday.
The army added that only one soldier was killed in the incursion, while seven other soldiers were wounded since the beginning of the operation on Thursday.
It noted that as many as 153 rockets were fired from Gaza on Israel since the ground incursion started, adding that 87 rockets fell inside Israel.
It added that the rocket interception Iron Dome defense system managed to intercept 40 rockets.
The Israeli army said a total of 1228 rockets were fired from Gaza on Israel since July 7, while the country's Iron Dome system managed to intercept 340 rockets.
Israel's onslaught on Gaza has so far left 306 Palestinians killed and 2250 others injured behind.
Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to lob rockets at Israel – some of which have reached Tel Aviv – in response to the deadly airstrikes.
Since hostilities began on July 7, two Israelis have been killed – a civilian killed by rocket fire from Gaza and a soldier taking part in the ongoing ground operation.
By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout
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