Israeli Ground Invasion of Gaza

clipped from rawstory.com Israeli tanks and infantry entered Gaza after nightfall Saturday, launching a ground offensive that the military said would be a "lengthy operation" in a widening war on Gaza's Hamas rulers. Israeli security officials said the operation is likely to go on for several days, but that the objective is not to reoccupy Gaza. The depth and intensity will also depend on parallel diplomatic efforts, the officials on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. "We have many, many targets," Israeli military spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich told CNN, adding that Hamas has been digging smuggling tunnels and other facilities. "To my estimation, it will be a lengthy operation," she said.

"The goal is to try and take over some of the those launching areas that were responsible for the many launches, thousands of launches in fact, toward Israeli civilians," Leibovich said. "The civilians are not our target. We are looking only after militants. Hamas militants."

Of course, it's almost certain that one helluva lot of civilians will die here -- Gaza is a very densely populated area. For more -- and better -- background and analysis than I could possibly give you here, check out Juan Cole's Informed Comment.