Israel’s army placed a full blockade on the Gaza Strip on Monday. This means they stopped any food, fuel, and supplies from entering the area, which is home to about 2. 3 At the same time, they launched many airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled territory as a response to the violent attack carried out by militants over the weekend.
More than two days after Hamas attacked unexpectedly from Gaza, the Israeli military reported that it had mostly taken control of the southern towns where they had been fighting against Hamas fighters. Israel’s highly praised military and intelligence operations were caught completely by surprise by Hamas, leading to intense fighting in its streets for the first time in many years.
Tanks and drones were used to protect the holes in the border fence to stop any new unauthorized entries. Many Israelis had to leave their homes in many towns near Gaza. The army called for 300,000 people who were not working for the army at that time and asked them to come and help in a very big and fast way.
Israel has started attacking Hamas more aggressively, which could cause a lot of damage in the crowded and poor Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, there were attacks that destroyed a big part of the town called Beit Hanoun in Gaza. The Israeli government claimed that Hamas was using this town as a base for their activities. On Monday, the Israeli army loudly told people in Rimal, a neighborhood in the middle of Gaza City, to leave. This is where The Associated Press and other foreign news companies have their offices. It was a warning that there would be a lot of strong attacks.
The big question is if they will attack the small area near the Mediterranean Sea, which could cause a lot of people to get hurt. The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised to completely dismantle the military and leadership abilities of the militant group.
Israel attacked over 1,000 places in Gaza, while Palestinian fighters kept launching lots of rockets that made air raid sirens go off in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A video on the internet showed that there was a line of smoke near a section of Ben Gurion International Airport. There is still no information about any people getting hurt or anything getting damaged from the most recent bombing.
Regular people have already suffered a lot and have had to give up a lot because of something. Nearly 700 individuals, including 73 soldiers, have died in Israel. This information comes from Israeli news sources and rescue services. This number is incredibly high when compared to previous conflicts. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that a total of 493 people died in Gaza. Among them were 78 children and 41 women. Many people have been hurt on both sides.
Groups of fighters from Palestine said they have kidnapped more than 130 individuals from Israel and taken them forcefully into Gaza. The fighting group of Hamas said on its messaging channel that four of their people died in airstrikes from Israel. That information could not be checked by someone else to make sure it is true.
The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, has ordered a total blockade on Gaza. This means that they will stop the flow of electricity and prevent food and fuel from entering the area.
Gallant said that Israel was in a war with “human animals,” using harsh language that both sides often use when tensions get high.
Israel and Egypt have put restrictions on Gaza since Hamas took control in 2007. In the past few years, Israel has given a small amount of electricity and allowed the import of food, fuel, and some things people buy, but they have made it difficult for people to go in and out of the country.
The Israeli seal means that Gaza will mostly rely on the crossing into Egypt at Rafah for import and export, but this crossing has lower limits on how much can be transported compared to crossings into Israel.
An official from the Egyptian military, who wants to remain anonymous because he is not allowed to talk to the media, said that more than 2 tons of medical supplies from the Egyptian Red Crescent were sent to Gaza. They are also trying to arrange for food and other deliveries, but they have not yet decided if they will allow fuel to be brought in.
Israeli Rear Admiral Rear Admiral is a high-ranking military officer in the Israeli Navy. Daniel Hagari said that Israel was using bombs to destroy houses and buildings in different districts that they believe are being used by Hamas. Israel is planning to attack many places, he said. He said that a lot of Hamas fighters were trapped underneath the debris of buildings that were destroyed by Israel in the last two days. It was not possible to confirm what he said about the numbers or that he said the dead were Hamas.
In the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, an attack by Israeli planes on Monday morning killed 19 people. Among them were women and children, according to Dr. Talat Barhoum from the local Al-Najjar Hospital. Barhoum said a plane crashed into the house where the Abu Hilal family lived, and one of the people who died was Rafaat Abu Hilal, who was in charge of a local armed group. The strike broke nearby houses.
During the weekend, a house in Rafah was hit by an airstrike. Sadly, 19 members of the Abu Quta family, including women and children, were killed, along with five neighbors. Nasser Abu Quta, who survived the attack, stated that there were no militants present in their home.
The UN is an abbreviation for the United Nations. Over 123,000 people in Gaza have left their homes because they were told the Israeli military would soon attack. The United Nations (U. N) The United Nations agency that helps Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, stated that a school where more than 225 individuals were staying was struck directly. It didn’t say where the fire started.
After fighting for about 2 days, Hagari said that the military now has “control” over the communities near the border in southern Israel. There were a few small fights on Monday, but overall there is no fighting going on in the communities right now.
He said that 15 out of 24 communities near the border have been cleared out, and the remaining ones will be emptied soon.
Earlier, Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua spoke to The Associated Press and said that the group’s fighters are still fighting outside of Gaza. He also mentioned that they have recently captured more Israelis, as recent as Monday morning.
He said the group wants to release all Palestinian prisoners that Israel is holding. In the past, Israel has agreed to unfair deals where it released many prisoners in exchange for just one captive or even the remains of soldiers.
Among the people who have been captured are soldiers and regular people, including women, children, and older adults. Most of them are from Israel, but there are also some people from other countries. Egypt’s government-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Monday that officials from Egypt are attempting to negotiate the release of Palestinian women who are currently imprisoned in Israel, in return for the release of Israeli women who have been captured by militants.
Mayyan Zin, who is a mother that is no longer married and has two children, found out that her two daughters were taken away when a family member sent her pictures from a Telegram group. The pictures showed her daughters sitting on mattresses while being held captive. Afterwards, she discovered videos on the internet of a frightening situation at her ex-husband’s house: Some armed men had entered the house and were talking to him while her two daughters, Dafna (15 years old) and Ella (8 years old), cried nearby. Another video showed the dad being brought into Gaza.
Please bring my daughters back home to our family. Everyone, Zin said.
The Hamas group took control of Gaza in 2007, after pushing out the Palestinian Authority. Since then, no one has opposed their rule, even during the blockade and four wars with Israel.
A large group of about 1,000 gunmen from Hamas broke through Israeli barriers early on Saturday. They spent several hours causing chaos by shooting and killing innocent people. They also kidnapped individuals in towns, along roads, and even at a music festival in the desert that was attended by thousands of people. According to the military, Palestinian fighters have fired approximately 4,400 rockets at Israel.
Hamas claimed that it carried out the attack because Palestinians are suffering due to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, blockade of Gaza, discriminative policies in east Jerusalem, and tensions surrounding a disputed holy site in Jerusalem that is important to Muslims and Jews.
The Palestinians want to have their own country in the territories that Israel took control of in the 1967 war. However, there haven’t been successful peace talks for more than 10 years, and the current right-wing government in Israel is against the idea of a Palestinian state.
On Sunday, the United States (U. S) Sent a group of warships to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel, and promised to send more help from the military.