"Unprecedented" and "barbaric"

Hamas says Israeli incursion into Gaza City is "unprecedented" and "barbaric"

From CNN’s Kareem Khadder and Nadeen Ebrahim

Some reaction now from Hamas to Israel’s stated expanded operation into Gaza City.

The “unprecedented barbaric Zionist escalation witnessed in the city… is nothing but a new chapter in the systematic war of genocide” against the Palestinian people, the militant group said in a statement today.

Hamas added that the United States bears “full responsibility” for the consequences of the invasion.

“These crimes, which have violated all international norms and laws, are being perpetrated under the blatant political and military cover of the US administration,” the statement said. “We consider it a primary partner in the genocide and ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza.”

The group called on the international community, especially Arab and Islamic countries, to compel Israel to end the war.

Some context: Nearly two years into the conflict, the Israeli military said it had begun a new and expanded ground incursion into Gaza City, which Israeli officials have said is one of Hamas’ last remaining strongholds.

Until recently, it was one of the areas in the besieged enclave into which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had not fully ventured.