The Israeli regime has ordered its military to mobilize 40,000 troops for a possible ground incursion into the Gaza Strip.
Media reports say the decision was made during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Moshe Yaalon says Tel Aviv is “preparing for a battle against Hamas which will not end within a few days.”
Reports say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also threatened that “all options are on the table”, including a ground invasion.
Earlier, dozens of heavily armored vehicles, including tanks and bulldozers, were lining up on the Gaza border.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has pledged to retaliate in the wake of renewed wave of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. The group is warning that Israel’s latest escalation could lead to a third Intifada or uprising.
At least 14 Palestinians, including two children, are killed and more than 80 others are wounded as Israel continues to pound the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army says it carried out some forty air attacks on the coastal strip on Tuesday. Several residential buildings were targeted in the raids. Mohammad Shabaan, a Hamas military commander, is also among the fatalities.
Hamas has pledged to retaliate, warning that Israel’s latest escalation could lead to a third Intifada or uprising.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri has blamed Tel Aviv for a “grave escalation” in violence and vowed to retaliate, saying Israel “will pay the price.”
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed due to Israel aggression over the past few years.
The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.
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http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/08/370435/israel-calls-up-thousands-of-reservists/