Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says blockade will include ban on admission of food, electricity and fuel. Israel has announced a “total” blockade of Gaza, including a ban on food and water, after Hamas carried out the biggest attack on the country in decades. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel as part of “a complete siege” on Hamas-run Gaza. Gallant described the move as part of a war against “beastly people”. “We are putting a complete siege on Gaza … No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it’s all closed,” Gallant said in a video statement. Israel and Egypt have imposed various levels of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, told reporters on Monday that Israel has “control” of its border communities following Saturday’s mass incursion of Hamas fighters into its territory. Hagari said there had been some isolated incidents on Monday morning, but that “at this stage, there is no fighting in the communities”. He added that “there might still be terrorists in the region”. Israeli tanks and drones were guarding openings in the border fence to prevent more infiltrations, Hagari said, adding that 15 of 24 border communities had been evacuated, with the rest expected to be evacuated over the next 24 hours. Earlier, Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told The Associated Press that the group’s fighters continued to battle outside Gaza and had captured more Israelis as recently as Monday morning. He said the group aims to free all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, which in the past has agreed to lopsided exchange deals in which it released large numbers of prisoners for individual captives or even the remains of soldiers.
Israel announces ‘total’ blockade on Gaza
