Israel has promised to organise a “complete blockade” of the Palestinian Gaza Strip amid attacks by Palestinian group Hamas.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said following an army’s assessment session, according to the Times of Israel news website:
“I have ordered a complete siege to Gaza. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed (to Gaza).”
Immediately following Katz’s order for a complete blockade of Gaza, Energy Minister Israel Katz ordered ” to immediately cut the water supply to Gaza.” Gaza receives about 10 per cent of its water from Israel each year.
The Israeli army confirmed early Monday that it had struck more than 500 targets in Gaza in overnight raids, saying they were targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Gaza-based Hamas has fired a barrage of rockets at Israel, calling it Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Hamas officials say their operation was in response to the storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased settler violence. In response, the Israeli army launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, killing 493 Palestinians and injuring at least 2,751. According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, at least 700 Israelis were killed and more than 2,300 injured in the fighting.
The Israeli blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip, in its current form, has been in place since June 2007. Israel controls Gaza’s airspace and territorial waters, as well as two of the three border crossing points; the third is controlled by Egypt.
Earlier, Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told The Associated Press news agency that the group’s fighters continued to battle outside Gaza and had captured more Israelis as recently as Monday morning.
