The WSJ reports, "Israeli ground forces invaded the Gaza Strip because all other means to stop rocket fire from Palestinian militants had failed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday.
Hours after Israeli soldiers were ordered into Gaza to destroy tunnels used to smuggle arms into the coastal enclave, the Israeli premier said there was no guarantee of 100% success. But, he added, "We are doing all we can to achieve the utmost."
After 10 days of aerial bombardment and a failed Egyptian-sponsored cease-fire, Israel's widening military operation to establish what it described as a new "reality" with the Islamist movement Hamas began at about 10 p.m. local time Thursday.
By Friday morning, 17 Palestinian fighters and one Israeli soldier, possibly in a friendly-fire incident, were dead, the Israeli military said.Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, immediately condemned the ground assault as "a dangerous step, the consequences of which haven't been calculated," according to a statement from the group.
Palestinian health officials in Gaza said the death toll for the conflict rose to 260 dead, with nearly 2,000 wounded, figures they say includes high numbers of civilians. One Israeli civilian has also been killed.
Israel's ground incursion was accompanied by heavy airstrikes and the most widespread warnings yet to Palestinian residents, urging them to vacate their homes or risk harm. The operation spanned the length of Israel's 36-mile border with Gaza, the military said".
