Israel braces for 'escalation spiral' as it prepares Gaza assault

With tanks and heavy artillery assembling on Gaza’s border, the likelihood of a ground operation in the coming days is increasing. ... Dr Tobias Borck predicted the Israeli government was gearing up for large-scale retaliation after Hamas orchestrated a multipoint incursion into Israel early on Saturday. “Israel has an incredibly capable military but this going to be very, very costly and will come down to the political will of the Israeli government on how far are they willing to go,” said Dr Borck. “We'll see a pretty extensive military operation over the next few weeks on an order of magnitude bigger than previous rounds of fighting in Gaza.”