No electricity, food, fuel, and water: Israel orders 'complete Gaza siege'

Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a “complete siege” of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, two days after shock attacks by the militant group killed more than 700 Israelis, including soldiers.
 

The Israeli military said it had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and was imposing a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, signs it could be planning a ground assault there to defeat Hamas.
 

Israel’s response to the unprecedented surprise attack by Hamas from the Gaza Strip will “change the West Asia,” the country's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 
 

Israeli troops have reasserted control over all towns bordering the Gaza Strip which were attacked by Hamas terrorists over the weekend, a spokesperson for Israel’s military said Monday.
 

 

Gallant is currently conducting an operational assessment at IDF (Israel Defence Forces) Southern Command, together with the Head of Southern Command Maj-Gen Yaron Finkelman.
 

“I have given an order — Gaza will be under complete siege. There will be no electricity, food or fuel [delivered to Gaza]. We are fighting barbaric [terrorists] and will respond accordingly,” Gallant said.
 

Gaza depends on Israel largely for its basic supplies and such a decision will have far-reaching consequences for 2.3 million people living in the densely populated area.
 

More than 100 Israelis, old, young and children have been taken captive by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the attack which started on Saturday.
 

Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas’s Saturday surprise attack on Israel and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut last Monday, according to senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Iran-backed militant group, the Wall Street Journal reported. 
 

After more than 50 hours of firefight, the Israeli army claimed that it has regained control of all Gaza border towns, but said that some militants who infiltrated may be remaining around.
 

Israel has imposed various levels of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

The Israeli army said it hit more than 1,300 targets in the blockaded and impoverished Gaza Strip in overnight clashes, while fighting persisted in seven to eight locations inside Israel around the enclave.
 

Israel's port of Ashkelon and its oil terminal have been shut in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Islamist group Hamas, shipping and trade sources said on Monday. The port is located just over 10 kilometres from the border with the Gaza Strip. 
 

“Over 123,538 people, have been internally displaced in Gaza, mostly due to fear, protection concerns and the destruction of their homes," said the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, with more than 73,000 sheltering in schools.

Hostage-prisoner swap: Qatar offers to mediate

Qatari mediators have held urgent calls to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by the militant group and held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons. Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters its involvement in mediation talks with Hamas and Israeli officials, including over a possible prisoner swap. The ongoing negotiations, which Qatar has been conducting in coordination with the United States since Saturday night, are “moving positively” said the source, who has been briefed on them.

Israel’s tech sector could face disruptions 

Tech companies operating in Israel are expected to fortify security as they could face disruptions, said investors and analysts, after Hamas gunmen from Gaza killed hundreds of Israelis and abducted an unknown number of others. High-tech industries have for a few decades been the fastest growing sector in Israel and crucial for economic growth, accounting for 14 per cent of jobs and almost a fifth of gross domestic product. Nvidia said it had canceled an AI summit scheduled for 

Tel Aviv next week.

Several airlines suspend flights to, from Tel Aviv

Major international air carriers have suspended or reined in flight services to or from Tel Aviv after a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel, saying they were waiting for safety conditions to improve. Israel’s national carrier El Al was the exception, adding more flights to bring reservists back from around the world to assist in the country’s biggest mobilisation in history. Regulators including the US’ Federal Aviation Administration, the EU Aviation Safety Agency and Israel’s aviation authority urged airlines to use caution in the region’s airspace, but stopped short of suspending flights.

Need ‘emergency govt’,  says  Israeli Oppn leader 

Setting aside their differences, top Israeli leaders have discussed the possibility of forming an emergency national unity government to deal with the complex situation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz discussed the possibility of joining Netanyahu’s government because of the emergency created by the infiltration, Ha'aretz newspaper reported. “There is going to be a military operation, incursion is not out of the question because we have to make sure this does not happen again," he said.