The rubble of a mosque in Gaza, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike.
After two days of rocket strikes, Israel’s army said it has regained control of southern areas near the Gaza Strip taken over by the Hamas on Saturday.
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“We are in control of the communities,” said military spokesman Daniel Hagari, cautioning that individual Hamas troops may remain in the region.
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Over the last three days, Israel has counted over 700 dead. Palestinian officials said Israel’s barrage of air strikes on Gaza has raised the toll there to 493.
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Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would impose a “complete siege” on the long-blockaded enclave. The impact on its 2.3 million people will be “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it’s all closed”, he said.
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Palestinians in the impoverished and crowded coastal territory are bracing for an Israeli ground attack aiming to defeat Hamas and liberate at least 100 hostages.
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On Day 3 of the war, skies over Gaza were blackened by plumes of smoke as fighter jets roared above. Hamas kept firing rockets as far as Jerusalem, where air raid sirens blared and detonations were heard.
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“Overnight IDF fighter jets, helicopters, aircraft and artillery struck over 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip,” said a statement by the Israeli Defense Forces.
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Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Gaza civilians to get away from all Hamas sites which he has vowed to turn “to rubble”.
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On Saturday, more than 1,000 Hamas troops broke through the border fence in Gaza and swarmed to nearby Jewish communities. There gunmen went house to house, mowing down people or abducting them back into Gaza.
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Israeli officials said the hostages taken back into Gaza include children and a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair. The shocked nation has likened the attack to 9/11.
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Israel now faces the threat of a multi-front war after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched guided missiles and artillery shells “in solidarity” with Hamas.
