Fierce battles are in gas

A week after the start of air strikes on the facilities of the Hamas group, Israeli troops began a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. In the north of the Palestinian autonomy, fierce battles are underway.

The operation, according to Newsru Israel , began about 21 hours on January 3. The tank units of the IDF entered the Gaza sector from the north and east and, with the support of combat helicopters, moved to Beit-lachia.

The press service of the Israeli defense army distributed a statement that states that the purpose of the ground phase of the anti-terrorism operation is to destroy the Hamas terror infrastructure and control over the places from where the missile shelling of Israeli territory was carried out.

On January 4, in Israeli settlements located at a distance of 40 kilometers from the border with the Gaza sector, most educational institutions will be closed. Classes were also canceled at the Ben-Gurion University, located in Beer-Shev.

Newsru Israel reports that during the ground operation of the IDF, 28 Israeli Defense Defense Army received injuries in the Gaza Strip. The condition of two of them is evaluated as difficult. They are in the hospital A-shomer (Tel Aviv), the Radio Bet Bet radio station reports on Sunday in the morning.

There is evidence that 20 terrorists were destroyed in the gas sector. 30 militants were injured. According to incoming data, the headquarters of the Hamas and several of its bases are defeated, as well as the objects of the Islamic Jihad group.

In turn, members of the Hamas group, referring to the radio interception, claim that the Israeli defense army lost about nine people killed.

Earlier, the representative of the Palestinian Ministry of Health Muavia Hasanen, speaking on local television, cited only the general figures for losses per day - 35 people killed. 14 of them died as a result of a airstrike in a mosque in the village of Beit-Lahie.

The military command of Israel states that it is mobilizing of military liable citizens, since the operation can take more than one day. The Minister of Israeli Defense Ehud Barak said that Hamas did not leave Israel a choice on the issue of a military operation. According to Barak, she will not be fast or easy, but the Israelis intends to achieve the goal.

The US government expressed a deep concern in the humanitarian situation in gas and emphasized the need to protect innocent citizens. This is stated in a special statement by the press secretary of the State Department of the United States Sean McCormak. The United States expressed its concern to the Israeli government due to the fact that any military operations should be performed taking into account the possible consequences for the civilian population.

"We are working on the cessation of fire, which could not allow restoring the status quo, in which" Hamas "can continue to launch rockets from the gas and condemn the inhabitants of the Gaza for life in unfortunate conditions," the statement says.

Israel builds a group at the gas sector

The Israeli army is building a ground group on the border with the gas sector. This was reported today by the Palestinian news agency of the Vaf. According to him, hundreds of soldiers, including reservists, occupy positions near the coastal enclave.

In addition, Israeli aviation and artillery continue to inflict intensive sector blows. Support from the sea is provided by military boats. Over the past five hours after the start of a terrestrial operation, hundreds of missiles and shells fell on gas. As a result of these shelling, there are dead and wounded. Their number is specified.

According to the Palestinian media, the ambulance carriages cannot evacuate the victims due to massive Israeli shelling. Aviation, in addition to missiles, uses large -caliber machine guns, cleansing the path to the ground forces in Gaza quarters.

Meanwhile, according to the Katar television channel Al-Jazeera, the “complete censorship” of information about gas events was introduced in Israel.

The United States blocked the UN Council of Requirements for Israel

The UN Security Council, after many hours of consultations dedicated to the new ground phase of the Israeli operation, came to the opinion about the need to end the fire in Gaza, the Vesti television channel reports.

"However, the US delegation blocked the possibility of adopting the chairman’s official statement for the press," the report said.

As France’s Permanent Representative of France at the UN Jean-Moris Riper told reporters, at the end of emergency consultations in the Council of People's Commissars, the meeting was convened in connection with the invasion of Israeli forces in the gas sector. According to the French diplomat, during the meeting, members of the Security Council agreed that it was necessary to "ensure a ceasefire as soon as possible", make every effort to improve the humanitarian situation in gas, as well as "resume peace negotiations." At the same time, the diplomat emphasized that he transferred to reporters only the opinion of the UN Security Council, but "the text of the official statement was not agreed."

The adoption of the statement on which the delegation of Libya insisted "the delegation of the United States" opposed. " American diplomats when discussing the draft statements did not want to approve its text. On Tuesday, consultations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should resume, it is expected that they will be attended by the head of the Palestinian National Administration, Mahmoud Abbas.