BUSINESS INSIDER
The Israeli government has formally declared war on Hamas, hours after the country’s military began bombarding the Gaza Strip with a stated goal of eliminating the militant group and seizing full control of the Palestinian territory.
US officials, meanwhile, said they expect Israel to launch a full-scale ground invasion in the next 24 to 48 hours.
The vote to formally declare war came over night and was announced Sunday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office said there would now be “significant military activities,” The Times of Israel reported.
More than 600 Israelis were killed over the weekend in a shocking cross-border raid by militants based in Gaza, which is home to roughly 2 million people. Videos show elderly women slaughtered as they waited at a bus stop in southern Israel, as well as the lifeless bodies of people attending a music festival near the border.
About 100 people, including women and children, are also believed to have been abducted and taken back to the Palestinian territory.
Even before the formal declaration of war, Israel was taking action against alleged Hamas targets in Gaza, where it is urging civilians to avoid areas occupied by the militant group, which has controlled the territory since 2006, the last time residents of the territory voted in an election.
But civilians say it is impossible to reach safety in the densely-populated enclave, where Israel accuses of Hamas of deliberately placing weapons and militants near civilians.
On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike leveled a 14-story apartment building in Gaza City. More than 300 Palestinians have died in the fighting thus far, according to local health authorities.
In a statement on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said it was bombarding targets in Gaza with one goal in mind: “To control the entire enclave and kill all the terrorists in our territory,” Lt. Col. Richard Hech told reporters, per CNN.
Israel had previously occupied the Gaza Strip, but in 2005 then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon oversaw a strategic withdrawal from the territory and the dismantling of the last Jewish settlements there. The strip has been largely blockaded ever since.
The last major war between Israel and Hamas occurred in 2014, leaving 2,200 Gaza residents dead.
