JERUSALEM--Fighting continued for a fourth day as Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza exchanged fire.Overnight, Israel targeted Hamas leadership buildings.
Among the more than 200 targets that the Israel Defense force (IDF) says they have hit, the Hamas headquarters was reduced to a smoking pile of rubble, which included the office of the Hamas prime minister. The Hamas Ministry of Interior, the Hamas police compound and a Hamas training facility in the northern Gaza Strip were also targeted. Shelling from inside Gaza into southern Israel also continued into Saturday.
The IDF added that more than 120 of the targets they hit included underground rocket launchers and over 20 smuggling tunnels.
Approximately 15 people in Gaza have been killed, and three in Israel. Dozens more have been injured in the violence.
One major Israel media outlet reported on Saturday afternoon that Israel has communicated to foreign diplomats that there will be a significant expansion of operations in the Gaza Strip, and tens of thousands of army reserve soldiers are being drafted for a ground advance.
On Saturday morning, Israeli ground forces were reported mobilizing toward Gaza, and Tunisia’s foreign minister Moncef Marzouki arrived in Gaza in a show of support for Hamas. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to arrive in Egypt over the weekend to discuss the situation.
The Egyptian government, who sent their prime minister to Gaza on Friday, has made an official request to the UN Security Council for an emergency meeting about the fighting.
