Israel’s new plan to encircle Hamas

AS NIGHT FELLIDF over the Gaza Strip on October 27th, the Palestinian mobile-phone networks in the stopped working. Rumours soon spread that Israel had begun a ground invasion of the territory. A terse statement from the army confirmed that ground operations were “expanding” but offered no other details. The few cameras that offered a view into Gaza captured some of the fiercest bombardment yet in the three-week war between Israel and , the militant Islamist group that controls the strip.Sunrise brought a bit more clarity. The Israel Defence Forces () had indeed entered from two points: around Beit Hanoun, a town in the north, and Bureij, near the narrow midpoint of the 45km-long strip. Relentless air strikes and artillery had provided cover for dozens of tanks and other armoured vehicles carrying infantry and combat-engineering troops.