1,000 killed as Israeli-Hamas conflict rages, US deploys munitions
Israel relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip early Monday, as fighting raged with Hamas around the Gaza Strip and the death toll from the war against the Palestinian militants surged above 1,100.
The Israeli army said it hit more than 500 targets in the blockaded and impoverished Gaza Strip in overnight clashes while fighting persisted in seven to eight locations inside Israel around the enclave.
This came two days after Hamas launched a barrage of rockets and sent a wave of fighters who gunned down civilians and took at least 100 hostages in a massive attack that took Israel by surprise.
The government on Sunday, officially declared war on the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza.
Also, the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned Israel to prepare for a “long and difficult” conflict.
The Israel Defence Forces on Monday, said more than 700 Israelis have been killed since Hamas launched its large-scale attack, Another 1,200 people have been wounded, many critically.
In retaliation, Israeli air strikes have hammered the impoverished and blockaded Gaza Strip, an enclave of 2.3 million people, with officials there reporting at least 413 Palestinian deaths.
United States President Joe Biden has, however, ordered “additional support” for Israel after the attack, the White House said Sunday, without giving details.
The President in a statement directed additional support for Israel in the face of this unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas.