JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip on Monday, halting deliveries of food, fuel and supplies to its 2.
3 million people as it pounded the Hamas-ruled territory with waves of airstrikes in retaliation for the militants’ bloody weekend incursion.
A major question remains whether Israel will launch a ground assault into the tiny Mediterranean coastal territory, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties. “I ask you to stand firm because we are going to change the Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told authorities from the south Monday. “I know you have been through terrible and difficult things. What Hamas will go through will be difficult and terrible … we have only just begun.”
Around 700 people, including 73 soldiers, have been killed in Israel, according to Israeli media outlets, citing rescue service — a staggering toll by the scale of its recent conflicts. The Gaza Health Ministry said 493 people, including 78 children and 41 women, were killed in the territory. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza of varying strictness since Hamas seized power in 2007. In recent years Israel has provided limited electricity and allowed the import of food, fuel and some consumer goods, while heavily restricting travel in and out. In the southern Gaza city of Rafah, an Israeli airstrike early Monday killed 19 people, including women and children, said Talat Barhoum, a doctor at the local Al-Najjar Hospital. Barhoum said aircraft hit the home of the Abu Hilal family, and that one of those killed was Rafaat Abu Hilal, a leader of a local armed group. The strike caused damage to surrounding homes.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Israel vows complete siege of Gaza as it strikes the Palestinian territory after incursion by HamasJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel vowed to lay total siege to the Gaza Strip on Monday, as its military scoured the country’s south for militants, guarded breaches in its border fence and pounded the impoverished, Hamas-ruled territory in the wake of an unprec
Read more »
Israel vows complete siege of Gaza as it strikes the Palestinian territory after incursion by HamasJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel vowed to lay total siege to the Gaza Strip on Monday, as its military scoured the country’s south for militants, guarded breaches in its border fence and pounded the impoverished, Hamas-ruled territory in the wake of an unprec
Read more »
Israel vows complete siege of Gaza as it strikes the Palestinian territory after incursion by HamasJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel vowed to lay total siege to the Gaza Strip on Monday, as its military scoured the country’s south for militants, guarded breaches in its border fence and pounded the impoverished, Hamas-ruled territory in the wake of an unprec
Read more »
Israel vows complete siege of Gaza as it strikes the Palestinian territory after incursion by HamasJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel vowed to lay total siege to the Gaza Strip on Monday, as its military scoured the country’s south for militants, guarded breaches in its border fence and pounded the impoverished, Hamas-ruled territory in the wake of an unprec
Read more »
Israel vows complete siege of Gaza as it strikes the Palestinian territory after incursion by HamasJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel vowed to lay total siege to the Gaza Strip on Monday, as its military scoured the country’s south for militants, guarded breaches in its border fence and pounded the impoverished, Hamas-ruled territory in the wake of an unprec
Read more »
Israel vows complete siege of Gaza as it strikes the Palestinian territory after incursion by HamasIsrael vowed to lay total siege to the Gaza Strip on Monday, as its military scoured the country's south for militants, guarded breaches in its border fence and pounded the impoverished, Hamas-ruled territory in the wake of an unprecedented weekend incursion.
Read more »