Israel and Palestine conflict: Israel sends troops in; death toll in Gaza grows; airlines cancel flights

Reporters in the Gaza Strip say they are witnessing “horrific” scenes as Israel sent its air and ground troops to attack the territory – in a major escalation in violence this morning.

An Al Jazeera correspondent reporting from Gaza, says there has been “sudden and huge wave of Israeli attacks” from the air, artillery and tanks concentrated in the north of the territory.

“We could hear lots of explosions,” he said.

Another reporter for the network described sounds artillery being fired into Gaza and machine-gun fire from a helicopter as a column of Israeli armoured vehicles headed toward the border.

A reporter for the Independent tweeted she was worried for her colleagues there.

“My colleagues in Gaza say it’s horrific right now there,” she said.

“They describe dozens, hundreds of airstrikes and instances of artillery fire. They’ve moved to the lower floors but have no bomb shelters. I am extremely concerned about their safety.”

The Israeli military has struck over 700 Hamas targets since Monday, including senior commanders and attack drones launched by the terror group.

However, this latest development – the inclusion of ground troops – is taking the conflict to another level, and is being described as an ‘invasion’ by some pro-Palestinian commentators.

The Israeli Defence Forces haven’t called it that, and other commentators have suggested their statement could mean that ground troops are shooting artillery by land, rather than being sent over the border.

Overnight, Israel pounded Gaza and deployed extra troops to the border as Palestinians fired barrages of rockets back, with the death toll in the enclave on the fourth day of conflict climbing to over 100.

The Israeli military has struck over 700 Hamas targets since Monday, including senior commanders and attack drones launched by the terror group.

However, this latest development – the inclusion of ground troops – is taking the conflict to another level, and is being described as an ‘invasion’ by some pro-Palestinian commentators.

The Israeli Defence Forces haven’t called it that, and other commentators have suggested their statement could mean that ground troops are shooting artillery by land, rather than being sent over the border.

As violence escalated, Israel security forces scrambled to contain deadly riots between Jews and Arabs, with projectiles also fired on Israel from Lebanon.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “deeply concerned about the violence in the streets of Israel”, voicing support for a United Nations Security Council meeting “early next week” on the crisis.

On the other side Hamas’ military wing has released provocative footage of a devastating and new type of weapon – the likes of which Israel has never seen before.

The Palestinian group said it had already fired one of the powerful new long-range rockets – dubbed “Ayyash 250”- into southern Israel this morning.

A spokesman for the group claimed it had a range of 250km and was launched towards Ramon Airport near the Red Sea city of Eilat.

The claims have not been independently verified, but the Times of Israel reports that a rocket fired from Gaza travelled 250km into Israeli territory and landed in the Hevel Eilot region, north of Eilat.

The paper says it may be the longest-range projectile Hamas has ever fired into Israel.

As the violence between the two sides continues global airlines are cancelling flights to Israel.

Delta Air Lines (DAL), American Airlines (AAL), United Airlines (UAL), Lufthansa (DLAKF) and British Airways have all cancelled flights following days of Israeli air strikes and Palestinian rocket attacks.

Hamas says more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the latest violence began on Monday.

Officials said 103 people had been killed, including 27 children. Another 580 people have been wounded, the ministry added.

At least seven people in Israel have been killed since Monday, including one child.

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