JERUSALEM - Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip Monday and cut off the water supply as it kept bombing targets in the Palestinian enclave in response to the Hamas surprise assault it has likened to the 9/11 attacks.
Reeling from the Islamist group's unprecedented ground, air and sea attacks, Israel has counted over 700 dead and launched a withering barrage of strikes on Gaza that have killed 560 people there.
"We are in control of the communities," said military spokesman Daniel Hagari, cautioning that some"terrorists" may remain after about 1,000 militants swarmed into the region on the Jewish Sabbath. Middle East tensions have spiked as Israel's arch enemy Iran and their Lebanese ally Hezbollah have praised the Hamas attack, although Tehran rejected any role in the military operation.
Israel has voiced alarm and revulsion after more than 1,000 militants broke through the Gaza border fence Israel had deemed impregnable and swarmed out into nearby Jewish communities. Israelis have voiced anger at the intelligence failure that blindsided the nation, but have attempted to put aside for now deep political divisions of recent years as they braced for what Netanyahu has warned would be a"long and difficult war"."Never before have so many Israelis been killed by one single thing, let alone enemy activity in one day," said army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus.
"The situation is unbearable," said Amal al-Sarsawi, 37, as she took shelter in a school classroom with her terrified children.
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