—— Israeli aircrafts continue to pound massive explosives on enclaves
—— Dozens of Palestinians killed in strikes on refugee camp
—— Death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to 560; over 123,000 displaced
—— Hamas fighters continue to cross into Israel from Gaza
—— IDF calls up 300,000 reservists
DM Monitoring
GAZA/ TEL AVIV: Israel imposed a “total blockade” on the Gaza Strip on Monday with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stating that all supplies of electricity, water, food, fuel and other goods would be stopped as Israeli troops battled to clear out Hamas fighters from southern settlements.
The Israeli army further said it would soon go on the offensive after the biggest mobilisation in Israeli history.
Fighting raged at several locations inside Israel where the fighters were still holed up following a raid that shattered Israel’s reputation of invincibility.
The Israeli military said it struck hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip overnight and had sent four combat divisions south where it continued to battle Palestinian fighters two days after a bloody incursion.
The Palestinian health ministry said at least 493 people including scores of children have been killed by Israeli bombing and more than 2751 have been injured till now.
A military spokesperson said fighting was ongoing at seven or eight locations near Gaza two days after fighters from Hamas killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens more in the deadliest raid into Israeli terri-tory since Egypt and Syria’s attacks in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago. Hamas fighters also continued to cross into Israel from Gaza, the spokesman said. Fighter jets, helicopters and artillery struck over 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, with targets including Hamas and Islamic Jihad command centres and the residence of sen-ior Hamas official Ruhi Mashtaa who allegedly helped direct the infiltration into Israel.
Medics in Gaza said at least seven Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes on two houses. Is-raeli planes carried out dozens of air strikes, many in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.
Israeli air strikes on Sunday hit housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque and homes of Hamas officials in Ga-za.
“The price the Gaza Strip will pay will be a very heavy one that will change reality for generations,” said Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in the town of Ofakim, which suffered casualties and had hostages tak-en.
Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said the country had called in around 100,000 soldiers.
“Our job is to make sure that at the end of this war, Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israeli civilians with, and in addition to that we also need to make sure Hamas will not gov-ern the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Oil prices were up more than $3 a barrel in Asian trade on Monday as the violence deepened political uncertainty across the Middle East and raised concerns about supplies from Iran.
Iran is an ally of Hamas and while it congratulated Hamas on the attack, its mission to the United Na-tions said Tehran was not involved in the attacks.
Any sustained rally in oil prices would act as a tax on consumers and add to global inflationary pres-sures, which weighed on equities as S&P 500 futures shed 0.7% and Nasdaq futures lost 0.6%.
