Israel pounds Gaza as Hezbollah militants join Hamas; 1,100 dead

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, October 8

Over 1,100 persons have been killed over two days of fighting with Israel repeatedly bombing Gaza Strip and Palestinians fighters belonging to Hamas attacking Israeli towns and army positions from air, sea and land.

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In a sign of widening of the conflict, Hezbollah militia based in Lebanon lobbed mortar shells and rockets while in Egypt two Israeli tourists were shot dead by an on-duty policeman. But an Israeli army spokesperson said, “We recommend Hezbollah not to come into this and I don’t think they will.”

In response to the Hezbollah barrage, Israeli artillery struck targets in Lebanon. “We will continue to operate in all regions and at any time necessary to ensure the safety of the Israeli civilians,” said the spokesperson even as Israel conducted air strikes all day long on Sunday that hit housing societies, mosques and homes of Hamas officials in Gaza killing over 400, including 20 children.

In towns of southern Israel, including “settlements” or areas occupied by Tel Aviv and settled with Jews, Hamas fighters were battling Israeli security forces, including its special forces, as they launched clearing operations. The Israeli military said battles were still raging but it had taken control of most infiltration points and killed or taken prisoner hundreds of attackers.

The Saturday dawn attack by Hamas that involved bringing down the fence separating West Bank with its fighters streaming into Israeli towns — backed by drone strikes, attempted landings from the sea and the use of paragliders — has so far killed over 600 Israelis, according to the local media.

The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs also went public with images of people, including young women and tiny tots, abducted by Hamas. It also published images of civilians, including the elderly and the young, gunned down by Hamas militants in cars, on streets and in homes.

“We’re going to be attacking Hamas severely and this is going to be a long, long haul,” the Israeli military spokesperson said during a media briefing. The IDF has carried out a massive deployment around Gaza Strip amidst speculation that a ground invasion was imminent. The Hezbollah has already warned from Lebanon that it would step into the war more actively if a ground invasion took place into the Hamas strongholds.

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