Israel stepped up its attacks on the Gaza Strip overnight with the heaviest bombardment yet by land, sea and air amid fears of a ground invasion with thousands of troops moved to the border. The Israeli army clarified early Friday that its troops had not entered the Gaza Strip as it had earlier stated, blaming an 'internal communication' problem for the confusion. Israel fired artillery and mounted more air strikes against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip amid constant rocket fire deep into Israel's commercial centre. 'Rockets continue to impact the Gaza periphery and areas across Southern and Central Israel, including Jerusalem,' it said. Brigadier General Hidai Zilberman told reporters early Thursday: 'Tonight we started destroying government targets in the Gaza Strip, such as central banks and internal security buildings.

Source: The Nation May 14, 2021 06:45 UTC