Israeli Ground Operation Has Specific Objectives

Breaking News: Israeli Ground Operation Has Specific Objectives

More than 20,000 Israeli troops entered Gaza late Thursday, hoping to clear out Hamas tunnels that can be used by terrorists to infiltrate Israel, or which warehouse rockets for Hamas and other terrorists groups.

According to Israeli military sources, the IDF hopes to secure three key areas of Gaza and deliver a crippling blow to Hamas' offensive capabilities within two weeks. They acknowledge, however, that it could take longer.

Military officials may have been caught off guard by a tunnel used by 13 heavily-armed Hamas terrorists to sneak into Israel early Thursday morning. Officials believe the 13 hoped to attack a nearby kibbutz, killing as many people as they could. Israeli military quickly discovered the infiltration and killed the terrorists as they tried to scramble back to their tunnel.

Part of the ground invasion will involve a house-to-house search in northern Gaza to find any similar tunnels. A similar search will occur in Gaza's south, near the border with Egypt, in an attempt to cut off future smuggling of weapons to Hamas and other terrorists, sources say.

The IDF made it clear that the tunnels are a priority in a Twitter post just after the invasion was announced.