Gaza offensive has only started, attacks to reverberate for yrs: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel has only started a fierce offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to an unprecedented Hamas attack.

Netanyahu delivered the pronouncement in a nationally televised address as Israel pressed ahead with a third day of heavy airstrikes in Gaza.

We have only started striking Hamas, he said. What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.

Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed off the Palestinian territory from food, fuel, and other supplies in retaliation for a deadly incursion by Hamas militants, as the toll rose to nearly 1,600 dead on both sides. Hamas mounted its own escalation on Monday, pledging to kill captured Israelis if its attacks targeted civilians without warnings.

In the conflict's third day, Israel was still finding bodies from Hamas' stunning weekend attack into southern Israeli towns. Rescue workers found 100 bodies in a tiny farming community, Beeri - around 10% of its population - after a long hostage standoff with gunmen. In Gaza, tens of thousands had fled their homes as relentless airstrikes levelled buildings.

The Israeli military said it had largely gained control in its southern towns after the attack caught its vaunted military and intelligence apparatus completely off guard and led to fierce battles in its streets for the first time in decades. But Hamas and other militants in Gaza say they are holding more than 130 soldiers and civilians snatched from inside Israel.