Night turned into day in Gaza since yesterday’s continuous bombardment by Israeli forces, which were followed by the orders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who began a ground operation in the region, with the aim being to “destroy underground tunnels” that lead into Israel.

A few hours after the first clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters, Netanyahu returned with severe statements, in which, after he warns that his country is getting ready for “escalation of the operation” whereas he argues that the aim of his forces are not to kill civilians but that “Hamas, being a terrorist organization, hides behind human shields”.

He argued that the destruction of the tunnels can be achieved by land, not only through air bombardments. All this, while yesterday the Israeli forces drowned the area in blood after 24 Palestinians were killed and over 200 were injured. When added up, Palestinian dead reach 265 within 11 days since hostilities broke out between the two sides.

At the same time, the Israeli military announced that one soldier was killed and two were injured during the operation, while Israeli forces have already moved in seven kilometers into the area.

Meanwhile, there are reports of the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health of use of “unknown toxic gas” that was catapulted by the Israeli army during their ground operations.

As Anadolu news agency reports, a spokesman for the Department of Health said: “Dozens of Palestinians, including children, arrived at the hospital with symptoms of suffocation after they inhaled a white poisonous gas fired by the Israeli army in Northern Gaza, near Rafah”.

The expert advised Palestinians not to panic and to protect themselves using nylon to cover the doors and windows of their homes in order to prevent gas from getting in.

At the same time, Palestine has reportedly shot over 1,500 rockets into Israel since the beginning of the first day of the conflict, while a Hamas spokesman described Israel’s decision of a ground operation as “silly”, warning of serious repercussions.

Meanwhile, 70% of the Gaza Strip has no electricity, while a spokesman of the power company said he has asked the Red Cross to work with Palestinian groups to repair the networks.

“We also asked the Israeli electricity services to repair lines on their side but they replied that it was too dangerous”, added the spokesman.