Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan stated on Monday that Hamas was holding “between 100 and 150” hostages in the Gaza Strip. Israel has regained control over the Gaza Strip border and carried out “massive air strikes” on the Palestinian territory, Politico reports.
“I think it’s an unprecedented number [of hostages]. It’s not going to stop us from doing what we need to do in order to secure the future of Israel. Our main commitment is to obliterate [Hamas] terrorist infrastructure.”
Israel has launched a major military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Palestinian group’s surprise attack on Saturday that killed hundreds of civilians.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Israeli military shelled “more than 200 targets” in the Gaza Strip. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Richard Hecht claimed that the country’s forces had “more or less restored control over the border” with Gaza.
Since last night we know that no one came in … but infiltrations can still happen.
Hecht added that Israeli forces had discovered “approximately 1,500 bodies” of Hamas militants at the Palestinian territory. Spokesman also called Gaza’s civilian parliament and ministries considered legitimate targets:
“If there’s a gunman firing rockets from there, it turns into a military target.”
Israeli officials called Saturday’s Hamas attack, which killed 900 Israelis and wounded 2,400, “the worst day in Israeli history.” Meanwhile, according to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed 704 people and injured 3,900.
After the Israeli government officially declared war on Sunday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “mighty vengeance” to Hamas terrorists, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “total siege” of the Gaza Strip on Monday.
Some 300,000 reservists, nearly two-thirds of the country’s military, have been summoned to join the IDF.
Israel has also sent tens of thousands of additional troops to its northern border with Lebanon “in anticipation of a Hezbollah attack,” according to an IDF spokesman. The dispatch of the additional forces follows a Lebanese militant group and political party claiming responsibility for strikes on several locations inside Israel over the past few days.
