Gaza Strip under Complete Siege

Following a formal declaration of war against Hamas on Sunday 8th October, Israeli fighter jets, helicopters and artillery have struck over 500 targets overnight in Gaza. The death toll among Israelis from the assault by Hamas has risen to more than 700, including 260 killed at a music festival. And at least 130 Israelis have been taken hostage to the Gaza Strip.

According to the Gaza Health ministry, more than 500 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s retaliatory strikes. Israel says most of those are members of Hamas.

Some Hamas terrorists remain inside Israel where fighting was ongoing on Monday morning in around seven locations, although the Israeli Defence Forces say they have regained control of all their border communities. Israel has now called up a total of 300,000 reservists.

Late Monday morning, Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, ordered “a complete siege" of the Gaza Strip saying, “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed.”

This mid-morning summary by BBC News: