The only way to destroy Hamas is to wipe out its “city of terror” tunnel network, Israel has said, as it stepped up its ground operation in Gaza.

Tel Aviv’s ambassador to the UN said the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) would “root out” Hamas from the Gaza Strip in a highly-anticipated ground assault.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, said: “The only way to destroy Hamas is to root them out of their tunnels and their subterranean city of terror”.

On Friday night Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said Israel’s forces were “expanding their ground operation”.

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said military operations were “underway” and that Gaza would be “very different” when they are over.

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