Netanyah: What Israel will do will now change the Middle East

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered Gaza's “full siege” on Monday, saying the country's authorities would cut off electricity and ban the introduction of food and fuel in Gaza. Israeli media say the death toll from Hamas' attack has reached 800, while retorting blows by the Israeli army in Gaza have killed 500 people. On the northern side, meanwhile, Israeli soldiers and tanks were seen being deployed in the area near Israeli borders with Lebanon on Monday amid fears that fighting could escalate into a wider regional conflict. The Israeli prime minister said his country's response to Hamas' unprecedented attack would change the entire Middle East. The following material brings a summary of Israel's latest data.

As he addressed mayors of the southern border towns hit by the surprise attack by Hamas Islamic militants that began Saturday, the Israeli prime minister said that what Israel will do will now “change the Middle East”.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, meanwhile, said Israel would impose a full siege on Gaza, Hamas-controlled territory.

We're putting a full siege on Gaza, there will be no electricity, food, water, fuel, everything will be shut down. We are acting in line with the” circumstances, Israeli Minister Gallant said.

The Israeli Army said it had called 300,000 militias. This and the Gaza siege are taken as signs that Israel is planning a ground attack to defeat Hamas.

Israel has sent tanks and soldiers to the border with Lebanon. Israeli officials have said that the helicopter-backed country's army had killed a number of armed men who had infiltrated Israel from Lebanon, raising fears that fighting could spread further across the region.

Israel officially declared the state of war Sunday, warning of greater fighting and a possible land attack on Gaza, a move that in the past has caused many victims.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Steinyeh said on Monday that Palestinians have the right to defend against Israeli aggression and invasion.

“These events and their consequences are the result of the Israeli government's policy of exploiting the worst methods of aggression, murder, land seizures, attacks on holy sites and terrorism. Aggression and security measures cannot produce peace for Israel or quiet for the Israelites”, says Mr. Stateyeh.

Hamas continued to attack Israel with rockets, lighting the sirens of air strikes from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

Israel reacted by hitting more than 1,000 targets in Gaza and tanks, and fears guarded the damaged Gaza border fence to prevent more militants from reaching Israeli territory.

Hamas has been deeply rooted in Gaza and has ruled the territory since the expulsion of loyal forces to the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority in 2007. His rule has gone uncontested through a 16-year Israeli and Egyptian blockade and four previous wars with Israel.

After crossing Israeli barriers with explosive devices at the dawn of Saturday, Hamas' armed men stormed for hours, killing civilians and kidnapping people in cities, along highways, and at a music festival attended by thousands in the desert. Palestinian militants have also launched around 4,400 rockets in Israel, according to the military.

The Israeli Army estimated that 1,000 Hamas' fighters participated in the initial intervention Saturday. The high number noted the extent of planning by the militant group, which has said it started the attack in response to the growing suffering of Palestinians under Israeli invasion in the West Coast, the Gaza blockade, discriminatory policies in annexed eastern Jerusalem and tensions over a holy place for Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem.

Palestinians want a state of their own in all three territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, but the recent serious peace talks were interrupted more than a decade ago, and Israel's far-right government opposes Palestinian citizenship. / VOA