The conflict has never stopped, but war has been declared. Israel, upset by the deadliest attack on its territory since its creation, officially declared war on Sunday on Hamas after the unprecedented offensive launched the day before by the Palestinian Islamist movement from Gaza, the death toll of which rose to more than 1,100 deaths in total. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of a “long” war.
Seeking to regain control after this large-scale attack – land, air, sea – in the middle of Shabbat, Israeli forces continued on Sunday to track down Hamas members in southern Israel and continued their airstrikes against targets in Gaza , where new buildings were destroyed.
Hundreds killed on both sides
More than 700 Israelis have been killed since the start of the attack and 2,150 have been injured, the Israeli army announced in a new report published Monday morning. In the Gaza Strip under Hamas control since 2007, 413 Palestinians including 78 children and 41 women were killed and 2,300 injured, local authorities announced on Sunday.
The Israeli army has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to regain full control of the desert regions near the Gaza Strip, rescue the Israeli hostages who are still there and evacuate all the inhabitants of the region here until Monday morning. Hamas has taken “more than 100 prisoners,” the Government Press Office (GPO) said on Sunday. “Civilians and soldiers are in the hands of the enemy, it is war time,” said the head of the Israeli army, Herzi Halevi.