ISRAELI FORCES ANNOUNCE AIR AND GROUND TROOPS ARE ATTACKING GAZA

Fri 14 May 2021:

In a statement on Twitter, the Israel Defense Forces said military forces are attacking Gaza.

IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 13, 2021

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from southern Israel, described sounds of artillery being fired into Gaza and machine-gun fire from a helicopter as a column of Israeli armoured vehicles headed toward the border.

Fawcett saw “the first sort of major movement of heavy armour that we had seen so far. Tanks, tracked vehicles, heading in a line south towards Gaza at the same time as there was this extremely intensive artillery barrage lasting about an hour.”

It was unclear whether it was the start of a ground invasion, or the “warning of a potential” invasion, he said.

IDF Tells People Living Within 2.5 Miles From Gaza Strip To Enter Bomb Shelters

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called on all people living within 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the border with the Gaza Strip to enter bomb shelters until further notice, The Times of Israel reported.

On late Thursday, the IDF said that its air and ground units were attacking the Gaza Strip, following several days of intensive rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.