Israel's Gaza invasion not meant to topple Hamas: army

Reuters

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's launch of a ground invasion in the Gaza Strip on Thursday is not aimed at toppling the Palestinian territory's dominant Islamist Hamas group, an army spokesman said. "That is not the goal of this mission," Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner told reporters. A statement issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had ordered the army to attack "terrorist infiltration tunnels", signalling that the operation would be limited in scope. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Maayan Lubell and Louise Ireland)