Here is what it is like in Gaza at the moment, per a report from the Associated Press: “Masses of red flames illuminated the skies as the deafening blasts from the outskirts of Gaza City jolted people awake. The strikes were so strong that people inside the city, several kilometres away, could be heard screaming in fear.” Army spokesman Jonathan Conricus confirmed that Israeli soldiers had entered the Palestinian enclave, without giving any numbers, AFP reports. But Reuters are far more circumspect, reporting: Although the statement gave no further details, Israeli military affairs correspondents who are briefed regularly by the armed forces said it was not a ground invasion, and that troops were firing artillery from Israel’s side of the border. Residents of northern Gaza, near the Israeli frontier, said they had seen no sign of ground troops inside the enclave but reported heavy artillery fire and dozens of air strikes. It is not yet clear whether the operation is a full-scale invasion of Gaza by Israel, or is at this stage a targeted attack on military group strongholds. It is currently just after 1am in Gaza on 14 May. What we know so An hour ago, as we saw in that earlier post, the Israeli Defence Force tweeted, “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew a few minutes later: I said that we would charge a very heavy price from Hamas. We do it and we will continue to do it with great intensity. The last word was not said and this operation will continue as long as necessary. We give one hundred percent backing to the police, the Border Police and the rest of the security forces to restore law and order to the cities of Israel - we will not tolerate anarchy. This is just in from the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Oliver Holmes: Israel appears to have launched its most intense attack on Gaza so far. Hazem Balousha, a journalist in Gaza city, said residents heard intense bombardments and attacks to the north of the strip since just after midnight. “It lasted half an hour,” he said. “Very loud; buildings were shaking. My building was really shaking.” Hi, Helen Sullivan joining you now. I will be bringing you developments in this story as they happen. Please do send any news you think we may have missed to helen.sullivan@theguardian.com or to me on Twitter @helenrsullivan. Israel’s military has said “ground troops” have begun attacking in the Gaza strip, following days of airstrikes and prompting fears of a ground invasion. “[Israel Defense Forces] air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement just after midnight local time, without providing further details. Shortly after, in an apparent reference to the operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: “The last word was not said and this operation will continue as long as necessary.”