After more than 48 hours of the type of intense, door-to-door fighting unseen in Israel for decades, the country’s military has retaken control of all the communities around Gaza that gunmen from Hamas had infiltrated, the Israeli military said.
Israeli forces are currently conducting “wide-scale strikes” on several “strategic” centers in Gaza belonging to Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Monday.
The Islamist militant group began its assault early Saturday morning, firing rockets into Israel and then sending gunmen over the border from Gaza. More than 700 people were killed, including foreign nationals and dual citizens from Brazil, France, Mexico, Nepal, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. Many of those killed were young civilians who were attending an all-night rave. Israeli rescue workers said they found at least 260 bodies at the festival site.
Here’s what else you need to know:
Hostages: Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, claims to have taken more than 100 people hostage, including high-ranking army officers. Young children and elderly Israelis are among those who were kidnapped and later swept across the border back into Gaza, according to Israeli officials. Foreigners, including nine US citizens, have been killed, and some are being held captive as well
Gaza: Israel responded quickly to the attack by launching heavy airstrikes targeting Hamas in Gaza and formally declaring war on the militant group on Sunday. Palestinian authorities said at least 560 people have been killed in the strikes, which continued overnight, and that residential buildings and mosques had been flattened. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency said nearly 74,000 people had been displaced and were taking shelter in their schools.
Rockets: Hamas responded to the airstrikes by firing another volley of rockets into Israel, including 120 toward Ashdod and Ashkelon. The salvo set off sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as well.
Siege: Israel’s defense minister said Monday that he had given the order for a “complete siege” of the enclave, cutting it off from electricity, food and water. The decision will almost certainly complicate the lives of those living in Gaza,small and impimpoverished enclave whose borders are effectively controlled by the Israeli military. The territory shares a small border with Egypt to its south as well.
Response: The siege announcement is the latest indication of just how severe Israel’s military response will be. The Israeli government formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday, setting the stage for a major response that could include the first full occupation of Gaza since 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew. Former caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid said a ground incursion was not off the table, but that it must consider the fate of the dozens of hostages taken into Gaza.
