Israel’s military said on Monday it struck “more than 500 targets” in the Gaza Strip overnight to try to retake control from Hamas fighters, in a third day of clashes that have killed more than 1,100 people in the two camps, AFP and Agerpres. information

“Throughout the night, fighter jets, helicopters and artillery struck more than 500 targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

Israeli forces are continuing their hunt for members of the militant group in the south of the country as they try to regain control after a surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday – on land, in the air and at sea – at the height of the Sabbath, the weekly Jewish day of rest. Israel, where they have 100,000 reservists, according to an army spokesman.

More than 700 Israelis have been killed since the attack began and 2,150 wounded, the Israeli army announced in new statistics released Monday morning.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned against a “long and difficult” war.

“Cleaning the territory”

“The enemy is still on the ground” in Israel, “we are increasing our forces, especially near Gaza, and clearing the area,” an Israeli army spokesman said Sunday night, vowing to pursue “terrorists wherever they are.”

In the Gaza Strip, which has been under the control of Hamas since 2007, 413 Palestinians were killed, including 78 children and 41 women, and 2,300 were injured, local authorities said on Sunday.

The Israeli army estimates 1,000 Hamas fighters who took part in the “invasion against Israel,” a spokesman for X said, AFP and dpa inform.

The Israeli army is also trying to rescue Israeli hostages, who are still “numerous” in Gaza, “women, children, infants, the elderly and the disabled,” the spokesman said.

According to the Government Press Office (GPO), Hamas took “more than 100 prisoners”.

“It’s a time of war”

“Civilians and soldiers are in the hands of the enemy, now is the time of war,” said the head of the Israeli army Hertzi Halevi.

At least four Americans were killed in the Hamas offensive, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Also, according to the country’s government, 12 Thais, ten Nepalese, as well as citizens of other countries, including a French woman and a Canadian, died.

Israel was also attacked on its northern border with Lebanon. Lebanese Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas and Iran, shelled a disputed section of the border, prompting an Israeli drone strike on Hezbollah positions.

In Egypt, two Israeli tourists were killed by a policeman who shot at them in Alexandria, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian group, said they had captured “many soldiers”.

“What happened is unprecedented in Israel,” Netanyahu admitted.

Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Initiative on Middle East Security, also assessed that “Israel was caught off guard by this unprecedented attack” and that “many Israelis cannot understand how this could have happened.”

Monday’s events regarding Hamas’ surprise war against Israel is LIVETEXT here on HotNews.ro