Ex-Israeli PM: 'Everything you can imagine and worse' awaits Israeli soldiers in Gaza

Ehud Olmert, former Israeli prime minister, has said that Israeli soldiers will face "everything you can imagine and worse" if the army launches a ground invasion into Gaza.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Olmert said such an attack "is not going to be simple and it won’t be pleasant - for us or them".

During his time as prime minister, Olmert sent ground troops into Gaza during Israel's assault on the besieged strip in 2008.

The Israeli army has called up some 300,000 reservists and is amassing soldiers near the Gaza Strip, though they have not made it clear whether a ground invasion will take place.

Olmert added if such an assault is launched, Israeli troops would be walking into “new shooters or new types of rockets that are stronger [and] bigger or new anti-tank rockets that we’re not familiar with”.