Palestinian resistance faction Hamas said Thursday that Israel will pay "dearly" for launching a ground operation into the Gaza Strip.
"The Israeli occupation will pay dearly for the ground operation in the Gaza Strip," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told Anadolu Agency.
He said that Palestinian resistance fighters were ready to fight Israeli forces on the Palestinian lands.
On Thursday, Israeli army launched a ground operation into the Gaza Strip, following ten days of relentless airstrikes on the Palestinian territory.
Israel has called up 56000 reservists for the ground operation into the Gaza Strip.
Israeli warplanes have been pounding the Gaza Strip since July 7 with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from the Palestinian territory.
At least 240 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1770 injured in relentless aerial bombing across the Gaza Strip, while only one Israeli has died in rocket fire.
Israel's military operation, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the embattled Gaza Strip – home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – in the last six years.
By Mustafa Haboosh
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
