Israel’s war on Gaza: Ground forces invade Bureij refugee camp
Relentless artillery shelling and air strikes target central Gaza as Israeli forces enter the Bureij refugee camp in the latest ground assault on the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Hezbollah warns an expansion of the war on southern Lebanon will be “met with devastation, destruction and displacement in Israel”, adding “we are ready for it”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bmc bmc bmc bmc bmc
The armed wing of Hamas says it fired a number of mortar shells at Israeli troops advancing east of the refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Major General Herzi Halevi says Israel is “approaching the point where a decision will have to be made”.
The Israeli military has been bombing what it describes as infrastructure used by Lebanese group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon since the Gaza war began, with Hezbollah also launching attacks across the border into northern Israel.
As we reported earlier today, Hezbollah warned that an expansion of the war on southern Lebanon will be “met with devastation, destruction and displacement in Israel”.
In a statement shared on Telegram, Halevi said Hezbollah has paid a “very, very high price” over the past months, and the Israeli military is nearing a “decision point” on next steps.
“We are prepared, following extensive training, for an offensive in the north,” he said. “We are nearing a decision point.”
Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi listens to a message during a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel’s wars and victims of attacks, at
Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi (left) at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery, on May 13 [File: Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via Reuters]
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People are coming to the hospital here from the Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps which have been under attack for the past few hours.
Judging from what we were able to see, just getting close to the ambulances that have been dispatched to pick up the wounded, the kind of injuries we’ve seen are either [people] coming shredded or need surgery for amputation.
Eyewitnesses from the Maghazi and Bureij camps are talking about what looks like a scaling-up in the attacks in what they predict as the beginning of a ground invasion and this bombing campaign is just a preparation providing coverage for the tanks and for the armoured vehicles to move forward.
Four people were already transferred from the emergency department to the morgue; they were pronounced dead right away.
Entire families in Bureij refugee camp are caught in the line of fire right now; they cannot leave the targeted areas due to the presence of attack jets, quadcopters and the constant artillery shelling. Ambulances, paramedics are unable to get to these areas.
It further increases the difficulties of the situation for people who have already moved from Rafah and the western part of Rafah seeking shelter in the central area.
Children scream as explosions go off near Bureij camp
Explosions near central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp, where Israeli ground troops have moved in, can be heard in footage verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit. int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int int bmc bmc bmc bmc bmc
In the video, cries of displaced Palestinians, including children, can be heard as the explosions sound off in the distance.
As we reported earlier, Israeli air strikes and artillery fire have killed at least three people and wounded dozens in the Bureij area.
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