Israel vs Hamas: Jerusalem declares 'control of communities', calls for 'complete siege' on Gaza

Israel's army on Monday (Oct 9) announced that its forces have taken "control of communities" in its southern territory near Gaza. The development came two days after a surprise attack was launched by Hamas militants.

"We are in control of the communities," said military spokesman Daniel Hagari while speaking to journalists, adding that there are chances of "terrorists" being present in the area.

"We have fully evacuated 15 communities out of the 24 that are adjacent to the border,” said Hagari, adding that Israeli forces are likely to complete the evacuation "within the next 24 hours".

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There were "4,400 launches at Israel," Hagari added while speaking about the barrage of rockets that were fired by Hamas into Israel since the assault was launched at dawn on Saturday. Hagari said that 300,000 army reservists were called up.

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Israel's defence minister calls for 'complete siege' on Gaza

On Monday (Oct 9), Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a "complete siege" on the Gaza Strip as the Palestinian territory was pounded with air strikes by the military.

"We are putting a complete siege on Gaza... No electricity, no food, no water, no gas -- it's all closed," said Gallant, in a video message, while speaking about the enclave which has housed 2.3 million people.

Around 700 people were killed in the attacks launched by the Hamas militants across the border in southern Israel on Saturday (Oct 7), as people in towns and communities near Gaza were shot before Israeli security forces started fighting back.

Hamas gunmen also killed around 250 people at a music festival which was being held in Kibbutz Reim, close to Gaza and was attended by foreigners and young Israelis, as per an organisation that helped to recover the bodies.

"We are fighting animals and are acting accordingly," said Gallant, in Hebrew.

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After the missile strikes were launched by the Israeli military on the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack, around 493 people were killed in the Palestinian enclave.

Meanwhile, the main international ally of Hamas, Iran, congratulated it on the attack. But Iran's mission to the United Nations refuted Tehran's involvement in the operation carried out by the terrorist outfit.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militia and Israeli forces also fired rockets and artillery at each other on Sunday (Oct 7).

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)

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