Escalation in Gaza

What was the immediate cause of Israel's ground offensive?

It began before the five-hour humanitarian ceasefire that Israel agreed to on Wednesday (16.07.2014) in order to provide Gaza's civilian population with some food and medication.

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said they managed to prevent a major attack by 13 heavily armed Hamas members who had entered Israeli territory through a tunnel near Sufa, intending to storm a nearby kibbutz. The attackers were able to flee back into Gaza through the same tunnel, and Israel believes there are still others.

What does the Israeli government hope to achieve with the ground offensive?

According to a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, the intention is to destroy "the terrorist tunnels from the Gaza Strip to Israel." A ground offensive is necessary, because it is impossible to hit these tunnels with air strikes, Netanyahu said. "But our main aim is to establish security and calm for our population."

The IDF has also been authorized to expand the offensive if necessary. "Hamas should not be destroyed, but significantly weakened," said Middle East expert Günter Meyer of the Center for Arabic Studies in Mainz. Meyer thinks that Israel needs to preserve Hamas, for fear of creating a power vacuum that more radical Islamists could exploit.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett have called for a ground offensive for some time - and even to occupy the entire Gaza Strip if necessary.

How has Hamas reacted to the expansion of Israel's military offensive?

Hamas condemned the ground offensive, accusing Israel of destroying the ceasefire negotiations. Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official who lives in Lebanon, said that the offensive would completely end the two-state solution. "The Palestinians will no longer have any faith that the Israeli are interested in a political solution."

What does the offensive mean for the population of the Gaza Strip?

"The destruction of what is already completely inadequate infrastructure will make the conditions and economic survival of the population more difficult," Meyer said. Israel has blockaded Gaza since Hamas took over power in 2007. Egypt is also keeping the border closed.

Journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer, who travelled to Gaza and Israel in the past few days, told state broadcaster ARD that he fears "the people of Gaza will collapse. They live in a cage in the tightest corner of the world." Rescue teams are working round the clock, hospitals are at the limit of their capacities.

There is a shortage of medication. During the first night of the ground offensive, the Israeli army began firing on the Al-Wafa hospital, because, it claimed, militant groups had begun storing rockets there. "The futile hope of an improvement to living conditions will lead to a further radicalization of the Gaza Strip and drive more people than ever before into radical Islamist groups," Meyer said.

How is the international community reacting?

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said on Thursday that he deeply regretted Israel's decision to march on Gaza, adding that the conflict could not be solved militarily. US Secretary of State John Kerry said Israel had a right to defend itself and would be supported by the United States. Angela Merkel also underlined Israel's right to defend itself and said that Germany was on Israel's side.

Turkey was once Israel's closest aly in the region, but the relationship has soured since conservative Islamic Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took power 11 years ago. It has called for a special meeting of the UN Security Council. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu tweeted: "We vehemently condemn the ground operation launched by Israel into Gaza tonight following its inhuman murders by air strikes."

What have Israel's previous military offensives in Gaza achieved?

In the three-week military operation in 2009, 1,400 Palestinians were killed including numerous noncombatants, according to the UN. More than 6,200 buildings were destroyed. Some 13 Israelis were killed. The Israeli offensive weakened Hamas militarily but not politically. The declared aim of containing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in the long term was not achieved.

The current military offensive against Gaza is the fourth in recent years, following those in June and November 2006 and January 2009.