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Israel has the ambition to carry out a land invasion of Gaza. Photo/Reuters
GAZA – This order is unpleasant and spreads panic and confusion.
The Israeli military has ordered more than a million people living in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate, and move south in the besieged enclave, as fighting between Israel and Hamas continues.
Hamas rejected the order and told Palestinians that this was an Israeli psychological warfare tactic and everyone should stay.
Israeli bombs have rained down on the Gaza Strip since Saturday when the Palestinian paramilitary group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel.
On Wednesday, Israeli ground forces moved towards the border with Gaza, gathering hardware and troops to prepare for a ground assault on the impoverished enclave.
“We started the attack from the air. Later, we will also come from land,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Israeli troops this week near Gaza.
Israel also called up 360,000 reservists who, when they all report for duty, will double the size of Israel’s combat forces.
When preparations were made, the question arose – what did Israel expect from a land invasion? Here are 4 reasons Israel invaded Gaza.
1. Destroy Hamas Infrastructure
Photo/Reuters
The multiple attacks carried out by the Qassam Brigades shocked Israel, something that had not happened since the October War of 1973 50 years ago.
“Israel’s goal in carrying out the ground invasion was to destroy Hamas’s infrastructure and eliminate its entire military capability to launch whatever we saw on Saturday,” Yossi Mekelberg, an Israel expert at the Chatham House think tank, told Al Jazeera.