Israeli troops and tanks are engaged in fierce fighting in Gaza following the launch of a military ground operation on Thursday night with the initial aim of destroying Hamas tunnels that could be used to launch attacks on Israel.
In a night of sustained bombardment as well as fighting on the ground, Israel suffered its first military casualty of the 11-day war. The dead soldier – named as Eitan Barak, 20 – was possibly killed by so-called friendly fire in the north of Gaza. Two others were injured.
The Palestinian death toll since the start of the conflict passed 274, including at least 28 who were killed overnight, according to health officials in Gaza, with more than 2,000 injured. Israel launched air strikes against more than 100 targets overnight. Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said the number of displaced Gazans had almost doubled in the past 24 hours with more than 40,000 seeking sanctuary with the UN.
Hamas has warned Israel of "dreadful consequences" of the conflict's escalation. A statement issued by the Palestinian group warned: "We're with you in the field, and we aren't afraid of the ground assault."
The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was visiting Turkey on Friday for talks on a ceasefire to halt Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip after meetings on Thursday with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, as well as a senior Hamas official in Cairo.
Turkey, a long-time supporter of the Palestinian Islamist movement, is trying to use its influence to stop the fighting. On Thursday Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lashed out at both the UN and other Muslim countries for not taking action to stop the Israeli offensive against Gaza, which he said amounted to "systematic genocide".
- The Guardian
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