Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to start a ground operation in Gaza, his office has announced. The new phase of Operation Protective Edge has already resulted in tens of civilian 
casualties and one Israeli soldier.
“The prime minister and defence minister have instructed the IDF to begin a ground operation tonight in order to hit the terror tunnels from Gaza into Israel,” the statement said.
A large IDF force has launched a new phase of Operation Protective Edge, starting a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, an IDF spokesperson has confirmed.
Israel had originally organized about 48,000 reserve soldiers for the operation, but on Thursday another 18,000 were called up, as reported by the Associated Press. It’s unclear how many are actually involved in the ongoing ground offensive.