By JOSEF FEDERMAN and ISSAM ADWAN (Associated Press)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s army ordered a whole siege on the Gaza Strip on Monday, halting entry of meals, gas and provides to its 2.3 million folks because it pounded the Hamas-ruled territory with waves of airstrikes in retaliation for the militants’ bloody weekend incursion.
More than two days after Hamas launched its shock assault from Gaza, the Israeli army mentioned it had largely gained management in its southern cities the place it had been battling Hamas gunmen. Israel’s vaunted army and intelligence equipment was caught fully off guard by Hamas, leading to heavy battles in its streets for the primary time in a long time.
Tanks and drones have been deployed to protect breaches within the border fence to stop new incursions. Thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from greater than a dozen cities close to Gaza, and the army summoned 300,000 reservists — a large mobilization in a short while.
The strikes, together with Israel’s formal declaration of struggle on Sunday, pointed to Israel more and more shifting to the offensive in opposition to Hamas, threatening higher destruction within the densely populated, impoverished Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, strikes leveled a lot of the Gaza city of Beit Hanoun, which Israel mentioned Hamas was utilizing as a staging floor. On Monday, the Israeli army blared messages to residents to evacuate Rimal, a residential and industrial district of central Gaza City the place places of work of The Associated Press and different worldwide media are situated, a sign that heavy strikes have been to return.
A serious query stays whether or not it would launch a floor assault into the tiny Mediterranean coastal territory, a transfer that previously has introduced intensified casualties. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy “the military and governing capabilities” of the militant group.
As Israel hit greater than 1,000 targets in Gaza, Palestinian militants continued firing barrages of rockets, setting off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Video posted on-line appeared to indicate a plume of smoke close to a terminal at Ben Gurion International Airport. There was no speedy phrase on casualties or injury from the most recent bombardment.
Civilians have already paid a excessive value. Around 700 folks, together with 73 troopers, have been killed in Israel, in accordance with Israeli media retailers, citing rescue service — a staggering toll by the size of its latest conflicts. The Gaza Health Ministry mentioned 493 folks, together with 78 kids and 41 ladies, have been killed within the territory. Thousands have been wounded on either side.
Palestinian militant teams claimed to be holding over 130 folks kidnapped in Israel and dragged into Gaza. The armed wing of Hamas claimed on its Telegram channel that 4 of them have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. That couldn’t be independently confirmed.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, saying authorities would lower electrical energy and block the entry of meals and gas.
Gallant mentioned Israel was at struggle with “human animals,” utilizing the type of dehumanizing language usually employed by either side at instances of hovering tensions.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza of various strictness since Hamas seized energy in 2007. In latest years Israel has offered restricted electrical energy and allowed the import of meals, gas and a few client items, whereas closely limiting journey out and in.
The Israeli seal will depart Gaza nearly solely depending on its crossing into neighboring Egypt at Rafah, the place cargo capacities are decrease than different crossings into Israel.
An Egyptian army official, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not licensed to speak to the press, mentioned greater than 2 tons of medical provides from the Egyptian Red Crescent have been despatched to Gaza and efforts have been underway to arrange meals, and different deliveries, however the query of permitting in gas was not but determined.
Israeli Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari instructed reporters that Israeli bombardment was shifting from district to district to destroy homes and buildings Israel says are being utilized by Hamas. Israel is planning to hit hundreds of targets, he mentioned. He mentioned “hundreds” of Hamas militants have been buried beneath rubble of buildings destroyed by Israel up to now 48 hours. His claims of the numbers – and his characterization of the useless as Hamas – couldn’t be confirmed.
In the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah, an Israeli airstrike early Monday killed 19 folks, together with ladies and youngsters, mentioned Talat Barhoum, a physician on the native Al-Najjar Hospital. Barhoum mentioned plane hit the house of the Abu Hilal household, and that a type of killed was Rafaat Abu Hilal, a frontrunner of an area armed group. The strike brought about injury to surrounding properties.
Over the weekend, one other airstrike on a house in Rafah killed 19 members of the Abu Quta household, together with ladies and youngsters, and 5 neighbors, mentioned a survivor, Nasser Abu Quta, including that there have been no militants within the household home.
The U.N. mentioned greater than 123,000 folks have fled their properties in Gaza – many after Israeli warnings of imminent bombardment. The U.N. company for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, mentioned a college sheltering greater than 225 folks took a direct hit. It didn’t say the place the fireplace got here from.
Meanwhile, after about 48 hours of pitched battles, Hagari mentioned the army has “control” of its border communities in southern Israel. Despite some remoted incidents early Monday, “at this stage, there is no fighting in the communities.”
He mentioned 15 of 24 border communities have been evacuated, with the remaining anticipated to be emptied within the coming day.
Earlier, Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua instructed The Associated Press over the telephone that the group’s fighters continued to battle exterior Gaza and had captured extra Israelis as not too long ago as Monday morning.
He mentioned the group goals to free all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, which up to now has agreed to lopsided change offers through which it launched giant numbers of prisoners for particular person captives and even the stays of troopers.
Among the captives are troopers and civilians, together with ladies, kids and older adults, largely Israelis but in addition some folks of different nationalities. Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram newspaper mentioned Monday that Egyptian officers try to mediate a launch of Palestinian ladies in Israel’s prisons in change for Israeli ladies captured by militants.
Mayyan Zin, a divorced mom of two, mentioned she realized that her two daughters had been kidnapped when a relative despatched her pictures from a Telegram group exhibiting them sitting on mattresses in captivity. She then discovered on-line movies of a chilling scene in her ex-husband’s dwelling: Gunmen who had damaged in converse to him close to the 2 weeping daughters, Dafna, 15, and Ella, 8. Another video confirmed the daddy being taken into Gaza.
“Just bring my daughters home and to their family. All the people,” Zin mentioned.
Hamas has dominated Gaza since driving out forces loyal to the internationally acknowledged Palestinian Authority in 2007 and its rule has gone unchallenged by means of the blockade and 4 earlier wars with Israel.
After breaking by means of Israeli limitations with explosives at dawn Saturday, an estimated 1,000 Hamas gunmen rampaged for hours, gunning down civilians and snatching folks in cities, alongside highways and at a techno music pageant attended by hundreds within the desert. Palestinian militants have additionally launched round 4,400 rockets at Israel, in accordance with the army.
Hamas mentioned it launched the assault in response to mounting Palestinian struggling beneath Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, its blockade of Gaza, its discriminatory insurance policies in annexed east Jerusalem and tensions round a disputed Jerusalem holy web site sacred to Muslims and Jews.
The Palestinians need a state of their very own in all three territories, captured by Israel within the 1967 struggle, however the final critical peace talks broke down effectively over a decade in the past, and Israel’s far-right authorities is against Palestinian statehood.
On Sunday, the U.S. dispatched an plane service strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean to be prepared to help Israel, and mentioned it might ship extra army support.
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This story has been up to date to right the title of Palestinian household to Abu Quta, not Abu Outa.
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Adwan reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Wafaa Shurafa in Gaza City; Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Samy Magdy in Cairo; and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
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