(ETH) – The Israeli military has reportedly struck northern Gaza with heavy artillery and has conducted extensive airstrikes Friday in efforts to destroy a vast network of tunnels that are used by Palestinian extremists, Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that the campaign “will continue as long as necessary” — since “the last word has not been said.”
It also appears that a major military invasion is imminent with the Israel Defense Forces calling up a reported 9,000 reservists and have also massed troops along the border as fighting with Hamas and Islamic Jihad have now entered its fifth day in the region.
Netanyahu stated that the operation will persist, who has also warned in a video statement that Israel would “extract a very heavy price from Hamas,” the Jerusalem Post reported.“I said that we would exact a very heavy price from Hamas and the other terrorist organizations,”
“We are doing so and we will continue to do so with great force. The last word has not been said and this operation will continue as long as necessary in order to restore the quiet and security to the state of Israel,” he added, referring to the so-called “Operation Guardians of the Wall.”
The latest update reveals that Palestinian militants have fired roughly 1,800 rockets and the IDF has launched more than 600 airstrikes, toppling at least three apartment blocks, in the fighting, with at least 119 deaths and injured 830 including 31 children and 19 women.
