Israel has announced a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip as hundreds of thousands of troops are preparing to launch an assault on the Hamas terror group responsible for the deadly attacks across Israel over the weekend.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said following a situation assessment with Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Southern Command the military will enact a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, preventing supplies such as water, food and electricity from entering the region.
The Defense Minister said, according to The Times of Israel: “I ordered a full siege on the Gaza Strip. No power, no food, no gas, everything is closed.
“We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly,” Gallant added.
The Israel Defense Forces has also said it is currently waging “widespread” air strikes against Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip.
The IDF’s top spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the military has mobilised 300,000 reservists over the past 48 hours, saying: “We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale… We are going on the offensive.”
The chief military spokesman went on to say that Israeli troops have regained control over the border towns but that some clashes with Hamas terrorists are continuing, saying: “We are now carrying out searches in all of the communities and clearing the area.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus of the Israel Defence Forces said that the attacks on Israel by the Islamist terror group were “unprecedented” and therefore required an “unprecedented response” and that the goal is the destruction of Hamas’ military capabilities to strike Israel.
Conricus went on to say that one of the chief goals of the military operation will be to ensure that “Hamas will no longer be able to govern the Gaza Strip,” adding that the situation is “fundamentally different than what it was two days ago.”
“At the end of this war, we will change the situation for the better… for Israeli civilians and it will be better for the Palestinians as well,” he said.
According to the latest estimates, over 800 people in Israel have been killed by Hamas terrorists, including approximately 260 who were massacred at a music festival in Southern Israel on Saturday. More than 2,500 have also been wounded in the fighting, and over 100 are believed to have been taken hostage by the Palestinians.
According to RAdm. Hagari, at least 4,400 rockets have rained down on Israel since the start of the fighting on Saturday morning, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, the final day of the annual High Holy Day cycle. The Palestinians, meanwhile, have claimed that 493 people have died in Gaza, with a further 2,751 wounded.
The Isreal Defence Forces said that it plans to be able to inform worried family members within the next 48 hours about the fate of their loved ones. There have been reports of missing foreign nationals, including from Britain, Germany, and the United States.
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