AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The Israeli military (IDF) announced on Monday that it had launched a large-scale ground operation in northern and southern Gaza, stepping up strikes on the Palestinian enclave where IDF strikes killed at least 130 people overnight, Reuters reported.
Israel released information about the ground invasion after sources on both sides said there had been no progress in a new round of indirect talks with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Qatar.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier that the talks in Doha were about a ceasefire and a hostage exchange, as well as a proposal to end the conflict in exchange for the demilitarization of the enclave and the expulsion of Hamas soldiers, which the militant group has rejected.
The Israeli military said it carried out air strikes on more than 670 Hamas targets in Gaza last week in support of its ground operation dubbed "Gideon's Chariots," the British agency reported.