Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a “complete siege” of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, two days after shock attacks by the militant group killed more than 700 Israelis, including soldiers.
Gallant is currently conducting an operational assessment at IDF (Israel Defence Forces) Southern Command, together with the Head of Southern Command Major General Yaron Finkelman.
“I have given an order — Gaza will be under complete siege. There will be no electricity, food or fuel (delivered to Gaza). We are fighting barbaric (terrorists) and will respond accordingly,” Gallant said.
Gaza depends on Israel largely for its basic supplies and such a decision will have far-reaching consequences for 2.3 million people living in the densely populated area.
While Hamas activists looked celebrating on the streets of the coastal territory on Saturday, wary commoners were seen looking to stock up on basic needs speculating about the imminent harsh attack.
The streets of Gaza for the last two days have looked completely deserted, much like most Israeli towns in the south.
The “complete siege” of the coastal Strip comes amid unabated air strikes being carried out by Israel in which, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 560 Palestinians have been killed so far and 2,900 wounded.
The spokesperson for Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, going by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida, claimed that Israel’s bombing in the Gaza Strip has killed four Israeli hostages.
More than 100 Israelis, old, young and children have been taken captive by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the attack which started on Saturday.
“The occupation’s bombing tonight and today on the Gaza Strip led to the killing of four enemy prisoners and the martyrdom of their captors, the Qassam Mujahideen,” Abu Obeida said in a statement on his Telegram channel.
Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented attack by Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, in its southern parts on Saturday morning.
Israel’s Minister of Defence has been issuing stern warnings of a protracted fight since Saturday.
“Today we saw the face of evil. The Hamas (terrorist organisation) has launched a brutal attack against the citizens of the State of Israel, — attacking men, women, children and the elderly, indiscriminately. Hamas will understand very quickly that it has made a mistake — a grave mistake, and will pay a (heavy) price”, he said soon after the brutal attacks.
“Fifteen years ago, as Head of the Southern Command, I came close to ‘breaking the neck’ of [destroying] Hamas. I was stopped by the political echelon. This phenomenon will not continue. We will change reality on the ground in Gaza for the next 50 years. What was before, will be no more. We will operate at full force”, Gallant asserted.
After more than 50 hours of firefight, the Israeli army claimed that it has regained control of all Gaza border towns, but said that some militants who infiltrated may be remaining around.
Israel has imposed various levels of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.
Dr Maher Awawedeh, a West Bank-based analyst, described the Hamas attack as a “turning point” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said the multifront assault shocked everyone by its strength, size, scope, and achievements.
“We saw how the Israeli image, projecting itself as a superpower that sells intelligence and warfare, collapsed before a group of Palestinians, less than 1000 in number, as per the Israeli media,” he told PTI.
He blamed Israel for provoking Palestinians by entering the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, preventing them from praying there and restricting their movement.
“All of that was the spark that ignited what happened after the 17 years of siege to the Gaza Strip,” he said.
“We saw Germany, France and the US expressing support for Israel and saying Israel has the right to defend itself. Israel has the right to defend itself, but it doesn’t have the right to defend its occupation,” he added.
Meanwhile,European Union Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said Monday the bloc is suspending “all payments immediately” to the Palestinians because of what he called the “scale of terror and brutality” during the attacks on Israel by Hamas.
The surprise announcement by Varhelyi came just hours after EU officials stressed that no EU money whatsoever was going to Hamas in the first place and that contacts had been frozen for 16 years. The EU considers Hamas a terror group.
Queries about what the move entailed and whether it would hit all humanitarian aid to Palestinians were not immediately answered.
Varhelyi said that “as the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review,” which he said amounted to 691 million euros. Varhelyi said that the measures include that “all payments (be) immediately suspended. All projects put under review. All new budget proposals... Postponed until further notice”.
The EU says it is the biggest donor to the Palestinian people and has been advocating for years for the two-state approach that has guided international diplomacy since the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. EU foreign ministers are slated to meet in Muscat, Oman, on Tuesday to discuss the situation and see what actions should be taken. Varhelyi’s announcement seemed to preempt the discussions.
