By KUNA,
Gaza : Up to 30 Israeli soldiers were wounded, three of them seriously, in the Gaza Strip before dawn on Sunday, according to Israeli radio.
The radio said that an officer and two soldiers were seriously wounded, while the remainder suffered slight injuries.
Israel had launched a ground operation into Gaza Strip last night.
According to Israeli media, the Jewish state’s planes fired at more than 45 targets in the Strip, including tunnels and weapon caches.
The media reported that Israeli navy ships had also fired rockets at Hamas targets.
Meanwhile, the Haaretz, in its online edition, quoted Israeli military spokesperson Major Avital Leibovitch as saying that the objective is to destroy the infrastructure of Hamas. “We are going to take some of the launch areas used by Hamas.” Moreover, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) issued a statement emphasizing that this stage of the operation would further the goals of Israeli offensive, in its ninth day today: to strike a direct and hard blow against the Hamas while increasing the deterrent strength of the IDF, in order to ensure the security of southern Israel on the long term.
Meanwhile, the Israeli cabinet has authorized an emergency call up of tens of thousands of IDF reservists, according to the Haaretz.
Furthermore, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barrak imposed a naval siege on Gaza Strip, 40 km off the coasts.