Israeli navy commandos have briefly clashed with Hamas in the first ground incursion by the Israeli military in Gaza. The Israeli Defence Force hailed the raid on a missile launch site in northern Gaza as “accomplished.” The IDF, which stated that it would continue to target ‘any element which uses terror against Israel,’ announced that four of its soldiers had been injured in an exchange of fire with Hamas militants. The raid came as the death toll in Gaza since the conflict started six days ago has risen to 165, with more than 1,100 injured, stated Gaza’s Health Ministry. The deaths include 37 children and 22 women. In one attack, an air-strike killed an entire family. Eighteen members of the Al-Batsh family, consisting of six children, were killed when an Israeli missile destroyed their home. Another 45 Palestinians were injured in the same attack. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA), more than 75 percent of those killed in Gaza have been civilians. The UNOHCA added that two thirds of the Palestinians injured have been children and women. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza on Saturday has…
