Israel secures Gaza border after fresh night of strikes

Emily Rose and Nidal al-Mughrabi | October 10, 2023

Israel says it has re-established control over the Gaza border and is planting mines where Hamas militants had toppled the barrier during their bloody weekend assault, after another night of relentless Israeli air raids on the enclave.

Israel’s latest round of air strikes came after Hamas threatened to execute an Israeli captive every time Israel bombed a Palestinian home without warning.

The Israeli military also called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, raising fears it planned a ground assault in response to the most audacious and deadly Hamas attack in decades.

The violence, which has claimed more than 1500 lives, prompted international declarations of support for Israel, street protests in support of Palestinians, and appeals for an end to the fighting and protection of civilians.

Israeli TV channels on Tuesday said the death toll from the Hamas attack had climbed to 900 Israelis, with at least 2600 injured, and dozens taken captive. 

Among the Israeli dead were 260 mostly young people gunned down at a desert music festival, where some of the hostages were abducted.

In remarks aired by Israel’s Army Radio, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there had been no new infiltrations from Gaza since Monday. 

In an apparent response to rumours that gunmen used cross-border tunnels, he said the military had no such findings.

Gaza’s health ministry on Monday said at least 687 Palestinians had been killed and 3726 wounded in Israeli air strikes on the blockaded enclave since Saturday’s attacks by Hamas.

Apartment blocks, a mosque, hospitals and a telephone company were among the sites attacked, and the strikes destroyed some roads and houses, according to media reports and witnesses.

The strikes continued into the night on Monday. The Israeli military said it hit targets in the Gaza Strip from the sea and air, including a weapons depot it said belonged to Islamic Jihad and Hamas targets along Gaza’s coast.

Hamas representative Abu Ubaida issued the threat on Monday to kill Israelis among the dozens held captive after the surprise attack on Saturday morning.

He said Hamas would execute an Israeli captive for every Israeli bombing of a civilian house without warning, and broadcast the execution.

The Israeli military had no immediate response to that threat. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said more than 100 people had been taken captive by Hamas during the deadly cross-border incursion at the weekend.

Palestinians reported receiving calls and phone messages from Israeli security officers telling them to leave areas mainly in Gaza’s northern and eastern territories due to army operations.

In Israel’s south, scene of the Hamas attack, Israel’s military said troops had re-established control of communities inside Israel that had been overrun, but isolated clashes continued.

The announcement that 300,000 reservists had been activated added to speculation that Israel could be contemplating a ground assault of Gaza, a territory it abandoned nearly two decades ago.

“We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale,” Hagari said. “We are going on the offensive.”

Washington, which provides Israel with $US3.8 billion ($A5.9 billion) in annual military assistance, said it was sending in fresh supplies of air defences, munitions and other security assistance.

General Charles Q Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Iran not to get involved in the crisis and said he did not want the conflict to the broaden. 

Iran makes no secret of its backing for Hamas and has applauded the weekend attack while denying any involvement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed support for Israel in a call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, the State Department said, and “reaffirmed our efforts to secure the immediate release of all hostages”.

Governments including Italy, Thailand and Ukraine reported that their citizens had perished in the Hamas attacks. 

In Washington, President Joe Biden announced that at least 11 Americans had been killed and it was likely US citizens were among those held hostage.

As Israel conducted intense retaliatory strikes on Gaza, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant drew international condemnation by announcing a tightened blockade to prevent food and fuel reaching the strip, home to 2.3 million people.

The British, French, German, Italian and US governments issued a joint statement recognising the “legitimate aspirations” of the Palestinian people, while saying they remained “united and co-ordinated” to ensure Israel could defend itself.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called on Hamas and Israel to immediately end violence and protect civilians.