Hamas threatens hostages as Israel claims ‘full control’. Israel’s deadly bombardment of Gaza without warning has prompted Hamas to threaten to execute some of the 150 hostages.
Hamas’ warning comes as the Israeli military said it has regained “full control” of the Gaza fence that was breached by Hamas gunmen on Saturday.
According to Hagari, no Hamas fighters have crossed over the fence in the past 24 hours, but some gunmen may still be within Israeli-controlled territory.
To prevent further infiltration, the military is now planting mines in the areas where the barrier has been topped.
On Monday, Israel cut off food, water, and electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip, prompting fears that an already dire humanitarian situation could rapidly worsen.
Hamas’ unprecedented ground, air, and sea assault has left Israel reeling, likening it to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
As a result of Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Gaza, the death toll has risen to 687.
Residents of Ashkelon, Israel, are told by Hamas to leave
According to Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida, residents of Israel’s Ashkelon port must leave by 5 pm (1400 GMT) on Tuesday.
In Tel Aviv, sirens have been heard warning of potential missile attacks, according to the Israeli military.
The heaviest bombings in the 75-year history of Israel’s struggle with the Palestinians have been launched since Hamas launched a deadly attack into Israel on Saturday.
Hamas fighters’ bodies
As Israel pummeled the Palestinian enclave with air strikes Tuesday, around 1,500 Hamas fighters’ bodies were found in Israel.
“Around 1,500 Hamas fighters’ bodies have been found in Israel around the Gaza Strip,” military spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters, adding that security forces had “more or less regained control” over the border.
“We know no one entered last night, but infiltrations can still happen.”
“Nearly all of the communities around the border have been evacuated,” he said.
The military has deployed 35 battalions to the border area, according to Hecht.
“We are building infrastructure for future operations,” he explained.
More than 900 people were killed inside Israel as Hamas fighters stormed the border fence under a barrage of rocket fire on Saturday morning.
At least 687 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip so far as a result of Israel’s massive air and artillery bombardment of Hamas targets.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military struck what it said were Hamas targets in Gaza, especially in the Rimal neighborhood and in Khan Yunis.
Khamenei denies Iran’s involvement in Hamas attacks
In spite of his strong support for Hamas, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denied any Iranian involvement in Hamas’s weekend attack on Israel.
According to Khamenei, supporters of the Zionist regime (Israel) and some people in the usurping regime have spread rumors that Islamic Iran was behind this operation.
He urged “the whole Islamic world” to “support the Palestinians,” saying, “We defend Palestine, we defend the struggles.”
Israel has suffered an “irreparable failure” on both the military and intelligence fronts, Khamenei said.
“Everyone has spoken of the failure, but I emphasize its irreparability,” he said.
At least 1,500 Hamas gunmen stormed the border and carried out a bloody rampage through Israeli communities on Saturday, which left more than 900 people dead.
A ferocious bombardment of Gaza followed the Israeli army’s announcement that it was the nation’s deadliest event.
No aid left for Gaza’s hospitals
Four days after Hamas attacked Israel and the Israeli army bombed the region, Gaza’s hospitals have been left without aid, resulting in a humanitarian crisis.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the WHO, Gaza’s hospitals need a humanitarian corridor “to ensure the entry of urgent medical aid.”
Gaza was placed under a “total blockade” by Israel, which prohibited the entry of food and fuel. The UN defines a siege like this as a war crime if it aims to starve a population.
Warning issued by Hamas
A Hamas statement said four of its hostages had been killed by Israeli air strikes on Monday.
Later, it said it could kill them on its own.
A Hamas armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that every time our people are attacked without warning, a civilian hostage will be executed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Hamas to Daesh in a televised speech late Monday.
Additionally, he promised to “strengthen other fronts in the north against Hezbollah”, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters exchanged fire.
In response to Hamas’ rocket attacks, missile defense systems fired and air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
A total of 300,000 army reservists have been called up for Israel’s “Swords of Iron” campaign.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would impose a “complete siege” on the long-blockaded enclave of 2.3 million people: “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas.”
The UN chief said he was “deeply distressed” by the siege announcement and warned Gaza’s already dire humanitarian situation would deteriorate exponentially.
Coastal Palestinians braced for what many feared would be a massive Israeli ground attack against Hamas.
Shaken to its core, Israel
Despite Tehran’s denial of any direct role in the Hamas attack, tensions have spiked in the Middle East.
“Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” has been dubbed by Hamas as a call to “resistance fighters” in the West Bank and in Arab and Islamic nations.
Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP from Doha that “there is currently no chance for negotiation on the issue of prisoners or anything else”.
In the wake of the surprise Hamas attack, Israel, which prides itself on its high-tech military and intelligence edge, now faces the threat of war on multiple fronts.
Israel said its soldiers killed several armed suspects who crossed the border from Lebanon on Monday, and that Israeli helicopters were striking targets nearby.
It was later claimed by Islamic Jihad that Israel was infiltrated from Lebanon by Palestinians.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement said Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed three of its members, prompting it to retaliate against two Israeli barracks “with guided missiles and mortar shells”.
Hezbollah said its strikes were “in solidarity” with Hamas attacks on Sunday, the second day of an exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s decision to open a second front in this conflict is deeply concerning to us,” a senior US defence official said.
It has moved its largest aircraft carrier and other warships closer to Israel as a show of support, but is not putting US boots on the ground but working with its ally on hostage recovery.
It’s unbearable
A Hamas attack penetrated the Gaza border fence, which is guarded by surveillance cameras, drones, patrols, and watchtowers.
The bodies of more than 270 people, mostly young people, were strewn across the site of a music festival in a Negev desert kibbutz, and other revellers were feared to be among the captives taken to Gaza.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, three Palestinian journalists have been martyred in the fighting, and two photographers have also gone missing since Saturday.
Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Israel has blockedaded it, resulting in four previous wars.
In addition to residential tower blocks, a large mosque, and the main bank building in the territory have been destroyed by Israeli strikes.
More than 137,000 Palestinian refugees are being shelter in schools across Gaza, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
From a classroom filled with terrified students, Amal al-Sarsawi, 37, said, “The situation is unbearable.”.
In the West Bank, protesting Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces, resulting in 15 Palestinian deaths.
‘Kingdom works to prevent conflict’
Oil prices have surged on fears of tightening supplies as a result of the spiralling conflict.
Chevron has suspended operations at a natural gas platform off Israel’s coast after authorities requested it.
In a telephone call early Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas that the Gulf kingdom was working to prevent the conflict from spreading.
According to the European Commission, it is reviewing its development aid to the Palestinians, but no suspensions have yet occurred. A similar review is being conducted in Britain.
For now, analysts said any diplomatic efforts could prove fruitless due to the unprecedented nature of Hamas’ attack.
However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is among those who are trying. Monday, he conducted an urgent round of telephone diplomacy.
Hamas was also measuredly criticized by Erdogan, who warned Israel against attacking civilians indiscriminately, calling for war ethics to be respected by both sides.
+ There are no comments
Add yours