Gaza Preparing for Possible Ground Attack

People in the Gaza Strip are preparing for an Israeli ground invasion, as Hamas and other militants continue to send rockets and missiles into Israel.

Anchor Aaron Schachter speaks with The BBC’s Jon Donnison in Gaza, who happened to see a rocket being launched toward Jerusalem on Friday.

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Aaron Schachter: There’s speculation that the rocket fired at Jerusalem today was an Iranian made Fajr 5 missile. That’s a large rocket more than 20 feet in length. The BBC’s Jon Donnison in Gaza says the use of such a large weapon is a sign of an upgraded Hamas arsenal.

Jon Donnison: It’s a first certainly as far as I can remember and that rocket, we believe, was launched right in front of my eyes at about 500 meters from where I’m standing now. We saw certainly the largest missile I’ve been seeing fired out of Gaza in recent days heading in the direction of Jerusalem. And within minutes we had reports of the sirens going off in the Jerusalem area and we now understand, as you know, that that rocket appears to have landed just outside Jerusalem.

Schachter: Now, this is certainly to use the words of Israel’s Prime Minister, crossing a red line and as you say, a red line that hasn’t been crossed before. They must be expecting some kind of retaliation there in Gaza. Are people preparing for that?

Donnison: I think they will be, yes, and we’ve heard an extremely busy day here in Gaza with airstrikes throughout the day. All day we’ve had the thuds of explosions, plumes of black smoke coming up around the Gaza Strip, shaking the building from where I’m speaking now, and at the same time as I was saying, we’ve seen rockets being fired in the other direction.

Schachter: At this point it seems increasingly likely that a ground incursion is coming from the Israeli army. I imagine that’s a daunting prospect. Citizens there must be pretty concerned about that.

Donnison: Lots of people are very worried here when you speak to the Palestinians, yes. I was speaking to one father this morning with his two children clutching around his waist, and he was saying he spent the night you know, huddled in his house. All the windows in his building were blown out by an airstrike that landed just 20-30 meters from his apartment. And yeah, a lot of people are very worried and the prospects of a ground invasion I think are of real concern. Now, of course, Israel had a ground operation during the war here almost four years ago and then we had 1,400 Palestinians killed, as well as around a dozen Israelis.

Schachter: And is there anything people can do to prepare for this sort of thing practically speaking? Is there anywhere to go?

Donnison: I think they stay indoors. I think people try and go underground if they can, if they’ve got anywhere they can go underground. They don’t go up on the top floors. They keep off the streets, they keep off the roofs and they try and go in what’s the most secure room in their house. There aren’t bunkers here, shelters for ordinary people. I think Hamas has bunkers where many of its leaders will be, but most people just get by the best they can.

Schachter: The BBC’s Jon Donnison in Gaza.

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Israeli official tells BBCthat gov considering significantly expanding the operation as Israeli inner cabinet meets in Tel Aviv. #Gaza

— Jon Donnison (@JonDonnison) November 16, 2012

Large explosions north of #Gaza City. Air strikes

— Jon Donnison (@JonDonnison) November 16, 2012

Officials at #Gaza‘s Shifa hospital say at least 23 Palestinians killed since Wednesday. Latest person to die in Gaza was a man in his 60s.

— Jon Donnison (@JonDonnison) November 16, 2012

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