JERUSALEM. Israel escalated its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and implemented a blockade on the territory, preventing the entry of food, fuel, and other supplies on Monday. This retaliation followed a violent incursion by Hamas militants, pushing the death toll in the ongoing conflict to nearly 1,600 people on both sides. Hamas, in response, escalated the conflict further, vowing to execute captured Israelis if attacks continued to target civilians without prior warnings.
In the third day of the conflict, Israel continued to discover bodies resulting from Hamas’ audacious weekend attack on southern Israeli towns. Rescue workers uncovered 100 bodies in the small farming community of Beeri, constituting approximately 10% of its population, following a prolonged hostage standoff with gunmen. In Gaza, tens of thousands of residents fled their homes as relentless airstrikes flattened buildings.
The Israeli military admitted to having gained control over most of the southern region, though the initial attack had caught its formidable military and intelligence apparatus completely off guard, leading to intense street battles, a sight not witnessed in decades. Hamas and other militants in Gaza claimed to have captured over 130 soldiers and civilians from inside Israel.
To prevent further incursions, Israeli tanks and drones were deployed to secure breaches in the Gaza border fence. Over a dozen Israeli towns near Gaza were evacuated, and the military summoned 300,000 reservists, marking a massive mobilization in a short period.
These moves, combined with Israel’s formal declaration of war on Sunday, indicated a shift toward an offensive stance against Hamas, potentially causing greater destruction in the densely populated and impoverished Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a televised address, “We have only started striking Hamas. What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.”
The pressing question remains whether Israel will launch a ground assault into the tiny Mediterranean coastal territory. The last such ground assault took place in 2014.
According to reports, approximately 900 people, including 73 soldiers, have already been killed in Israel, while in Gaza, authorities claim over 680 people have died, with Israel alleging that many of them were Hamas fighters. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.
In response to Israel’s aerial attacks, the spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, Abu Obeida, declared on Monday night that the group would execute an Israeli civilian captive each time Israel targeted civilians in their homes in Gaza “without prior warning.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen warned Hamas against harming any hostages, stating, “This war crime will not be forgiven.” Netanyahu appointed a former military commander to handle the hostage and missing persons crisis.
Israel and Hamas have engaged in repeated conflicts in recent years, often triggered by tensions around a Jerusalem holy site. This time, the situation has the potential to become even more explosive, with both sides talking about breaking the yearslong Israeli-Palestinian deadlock left by the stalled peace process.
Hamas’ weekend attack resulted in a death toll not seen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria, prompting calls to crush Hamas at any cost rather than attempting to contain it in Gaza. Israel is currently governed by its most right-wing government ever, dominated by ministers who vehemently reject Palestinian statehood.
Hamas, on the other hand, insists it is prepared for a protracted battle to end what it deems an intolerable Israeli occupation. Desperation has grown among Palestinians who see no hope amid continuing Israeli control, increasing settler encroachments in the West Bank, the Gaza blockade, and what they perceive as global indifference.
Attacks by both sides have left more homes in ruins on Monday, adding to the growing number of grieving families.
In Ashkelon, a southern coastal city in Israel, a rocket blast tore apart the front of a house, and evacuees were seen fleeing from the scene.
In Gaza, Palestinians carried the bodies of the dead through dense crowds of men amidst the rubble in the Jebaliya refugee camp.
Explosions were heard in Jerusalem in the early evening as rockets fired from Gaza struck two neighborhoods, signaling the reach of Hamas. Israeli media reported seven injuries.
Monday evening also witnessed an intense Israeli bombardment of Rimal, a residential and commercial district in central Gaza City, after residents were warned to evacuate. Amid continuous explosions, the building housing the headquarters of the Palestinian Telecommunications Company was destroyed.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, announcing that authorities would cut off electricity and block food and fuel deliveries.
Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council aid group, warned that the Israeli siege would result in an “utter disaster” for Gazans. He emphasized that collective punishment violated international law and, if it led to the deaths of wounded children in hospitals due to a lack of energy, electricity, and supplies, it could amount to war crimes.
The Israeli blockade will make Gaza nearly entirely reliant on its crossing into neighboring Egypt at Rafah, where cargo capacities are lower than those of other crossings into Israel.
An anonymous Egyptian military official revealed that more than two tons of medical supplies from the Egyptian Red Crescent were sent to Gaza, and efforts were underway to organize food and other deliveries.
In the southern Gaza city of Rafah, an Israeli airstrike early Monday killed 19 people, including women and children, according to Dr. Talat Barhoum of the local Al-Najjar Hospital.
The United Nations reported that over 123,000 people in Gaza had fled their homes, many heeding Israeli warnings of imminent bombardment. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, reported that a school sheltering more than 225 people took a direct hit, though the source of the fire was not mentioned.
Israeli Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari claimed that hundreds of Hamas militants were buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israel over the past 48 hours, though these claims could not be independently verified.
New exchanges along Israel’s northern border on Monday raised concerns that the conflict could spread to a new front. Palestinian militants from the Islamic Jihad group infiltrated from Lebanon into Israel, prompting Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group reported the deaths of five of its members and retaliated with a barrage of rockets and mortars aimed at two Israeli army bases across the border.
Hamas’ surprise weekend attack has resulted in a death toll not seen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria. This has led to calls to crush Hamas at any cost rather than attempting to contain it in Gaza. Israel is currently governed by its most right-wing government ever, dominated by ministers who vehemently reject Palestinian statehood.
Hamas, on the other hand, insists it is prepared for a protracted battle to end what it deems an intolerable Israeli occupation. Desperation has grown among Palestinians who see no hope amid continuing Israeli control, increasing settler encroachments in the West Bank, the Gaza blockade, and what they perceive as global indifference.
On Sunday, the United States dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel and announced plans to send additional military aid.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
