Israel: IDF probes infiltration reports of Golan Heights airspace, asks people to remain in bomb shelters

Israeli authorities have ordered residents of a number of towns in northern Israel to remain in bomb shelters until further notice as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it is investigating an infiltration into Israel's airspace in the Golan Heights, a disputed region.

In a statement, IDF said: "A report was received regarding a suspected aerial infiltration in the area of the Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee. IDF soldiers are directing IDF aircraft and conducting searches in the area."

IDF has also said that it has been instructing the population inside of the Gaza Strip to distance themselves from designated areas. In a post on X, it said: "We emphasize that there is no official call by Israel for residents of the Gaza Strip to exit into Egypt."

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Israel's Channel 12 also reportedthat Israel has told Egypt it will bomb trucks carrying supplies into Gaza.

Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed it off from food, fuel, and other supplies in retaliation for a bloody and unprecedented incursion by Hamas militants on Saturday (Oct 7).

Hamas pledged to kill captured Israelis if attacks targeted civilians without warnings — an announcement which attracted global condemnation.

Israel said it was evacuating towns near the Gaza border. It confirmed that bodies of some 1,500 Hamas militants had been recovered till Tuesday after days of grueling battles outside the Palestinian enclave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel's response in the form of incessant air strikes was only the start of a sustained war to destroy Hamas and "change the Middle East".

The death toll in Israel has surged above 900 from the worst attack in the country's 75-year history, while Gaza officials have reported 687 people killed so far.

Netanyahu has likened the large-scale slaughter of Israeli civilians to the atrocities committed by the Islamic State group (ISIS), when they controlled vast swathes of Syria and Iraq.

Watch:Hamas launching more rockets despite barrage of Israeli strikes

In a televised address late Monday, Netanyahu said: "Hamas terrorists bound, burned and executed children. They are savages. Hamas is ISIS."

The veteran leader at the helm of Israel's hard-right coalition also called for an "emergency government of national unity" after years of political crisis and bitter societal divisions.

The Israeli army has called up 300,000 reservists for its "Swords of Iron" campaign and massed tanks and other heavy armour both near Gaza, and on the northern border with Lebanon.

(With inputs from agencies)

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.

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