ISRAEL has ordered a total blockade of bomb-hit Gaza after Hamas terrorists unleashed a bloodbath dubbed “Israel’s 9/11”.
More than 1,100 people in Israel and Gaza have been killed since a Palestinian militant group crossed the border on Saturday and massacred hundreds at a music festival.
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Rescuers try to find survivors after an airstrike in Jabalia, northern GazaCredit: Reuters
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Israel Defense Forces video shows barrage of airstrikes on the Gaza StripCredit: Israel Defense Forces
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Destroyed buildings in Rafah, Gaza amid relentless attacks from IsraelCredit: Getty
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A paramedic carries an injured girl after the bombing of a mosque in GazaCredit: Rex
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Israel is massing tanks and troops on the border with Gaza in the town of SderotCredit: Getty
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US moves warships towards Israel – including USS Gerald Ford seen in satellite images Credit: Twitter/@lobsterlarryliu
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Israel is now massing tanks and troops on the border with Gaza in the town of Sderot – with some 300,000 reserve troops deployed in the south.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to reduce Gaza to “rubble” as he destroys Hamas strongholds in retaliation for Saturday’s surprise attack.
He has brought in special forces as his troops attack the Gaza Strip with relentless airstrikes after officially declaring war on Hamas.
The US is also moving several warships – including the USS Gerald Ford – to the Mediterranean after Joe Biden pledged Washington’s “firm” support for Tel Aviv.
US officials expect Israel to attack the Gaza Strip within “the next 48 hours,” the Washington Post reports.
This morning, Israel imposed a “total siege” on the area – including a blanket ban on food and fuel entering Gaza and an immediate cutoff to water supplies.
“There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
“We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”
So far, at least 700 people have been killed in Israel, while more than 500 have been confirmed dead in Gaza – with the death toll rising on both sides.
Rishi Sunak called an emergency COBRA meeting today after the brutal attacks – and Downing Street said it supported Israel taking “proportionate action” in response to the Hamas attacks.
Israel’s Zaka rescue service said its paramedics had pulled about 260 bodies from the Supernova music festival in Sukkot, southern Israel.
Hundreds of revelers were killed by gunmen on paragliders and a barrage of rockets.
It was one of the first targets of Hamas militants who crossed the Gaza border early on Saturday.
Shocking footage showed terrified ravers fleeing the scene – around 750 people are missing.
It comes as…
- More than 1,100 are confirmed dead in Israel and Gaza, with thousands injured
- Hamas terrorists launched an all-out attack on Israel from land, air and sea with 5,000 rockets fired
- Rishi Sunak called an emergency COBRA meeting to discuss the attacks
- The Palestinian Health Ministry says hundreds have died in the violence that followed a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Gaza will be “turned into ruins”
- There have been reports of kidnapped Israeli soldiers parading in military vehicles
- The one-eyed terror chief of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, masterminded the deadly attack on Israel
- More than 10 British nationals feared missing or dead after attending music festival in southern Israel
- Netanyahu mobilized the country’s military reserves after his declaration of war
- Airlines suspend flights to Tel Aviv as violence rages
- Attack dubbed “Israel’s 9/11” after “shameful intelligence failure”
More than a dozen Britons are now feared dead or missing, The Times reports.
Lance Corporal Nathanel Young, 20, who served with the 13th Battalion of the Israel Defense Forces, was confirmed dead on Saturday.
And today, Scotsman Bernard Cowan, 57, was reportedly killed by a Palestinian militant group.
His brother Colin shared the news on Facebook, saying “we are all devastated”.
Among the missing Britons is Jake Marlowe (26), who worked as a security guard at the festival.
Another Briton, photographer Dan Darlington, who was visiting from his home in Berlin, also disappeared, according to his father David.
He was pictured laughing with his German girlfriend Carolin Bohl – who has also disappeared – shortly before they vanished during the festival massacre.
His family said he was “full of life and the life of the party”.
Nine Americans were also killed in Israel, the US government confirmed.
One-eyed Hamas terror chief Mohammed Deif masterminded the carefully planned and deadly attack.
The 58-year-old wheelchair-bound man survived five assassination attempts in which his wife and two children were killed.
Deif ordered the militants to use explosives and bulldozers to breach the fences surrounding Gaza.
Hamas insiders claimed that Iran helped them plan the brutal attack.
They said top officers in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been working on the plot since August – and allegedly gave the go-ahead at a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon.
Militants from Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that controls much of Lebanon and has often clashed with Israel, also said Iran helped plan the massacre.
Revolutionary Guard leader Ismail Qaani reportedly chaired the meetings – which were attended by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas’s Saleh al-Arouri.
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Hamas and Hezbollah insiders said the attacks were aimed at disrupting US-brokered talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia to restore normal diplomatic relations.
Hezbollah and Israel exchanged artillery and rocket fire today, while Israel said it had killed “a number of armed suspects” who entered Israel from Lebanon.
For years, Iran has tried to build influence in countries around Israel by funneling money and weapons to the likes of Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria’s Assad regime.
Meanwhile, Kiev claimed that NATO weapons collected as spoils of war from dead Ukrainian troops were shipped to Hamas militants for use in the Israeli attack.
dr. Nimrod Goren, senior fellow for Israeli affairs at the Middle East Institute, told The Sun: “This is not a short matter and it will not be over very soon.
“Obviously, Israel’s first goal is to push Hamas out of its territory. And whenever there are Hamas people inside Israeli cities, then the effort is to clear [them] out.
“The Israeli government [will] they want to impose a heavy price and tribute from Hamas.
“Whether a ground offensive will happen or not is a big question.”
Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said around 1,000 Palestinian militants took part in the Hamas attack on Saturday – which he called “by far the worst day in Israel’s history”.
“Never before have so many Israelis been killed by one single thing, let alone enemy activity in one day,” he said.
He compared it to “9/11 and Pearl Harbor rolled into one.”
Israel was stunned when Hamas launched its multi-pronged offensive on Saturday – with at least 3,000 rockets falling as fighters infiltrated towns and stormed a music festival.
Panicked Israelis hiding in their homes said militants were going door-to-door shooting civilians or dragging them away.
Hamas captured at least 100 citizens and abducted them to Gaza – and pictures of the bloody hostages are circulating on social media.
Israel was also attacked on Sunday when Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched missiles “in solidarity” with Hamas.
Israeli attacks decimated several residential buildings in Gaza and destroyed numerous mosques.
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Israeli howitzers set up in northern Israel near the border with LebanonCredit: AFP
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Terrified civilians fled a music festival where 260 people were killed by Hamas terrorists
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Israeli airstrikes hit al-Susi mosque in GazaCredit: Getty
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The mosque is one of several leveled by Israeli bombs in GazaCredit: Getty
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The Ahmed Yassin Mosque was also destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in GazaCredit: AFP
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Drone footage shows the shocking aftermath of the attack on the festival in which 260 people died Credit: Telegram
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Briton Jake Marlowe was reported missing after Hamas terrorists stormed the festival
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British Danny Darlington and his German girlfriend Carolin Bohl pictured laughing before disappearing during Hamas festival massacre Credit: Instagram
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Hamas militants mutilated and exposed the body of a Shani Louk festival goerCredit: shanukkk/Instagram
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Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in GazaCredit: Reuters
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