Israel-Hamas war: Here's what we know so far on the third day of battle

Israel's military has regained control of its southern region from Hamas militants as it pounded the Gaza Strip from the air. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said they would destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas.

 

More than two days after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion from Gaza, the Israeli military said the fighting had largely died down for now, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP).

 

The attack caught Israel's military and intelligence completely off guard, bringing heavy battles to its streets for the first time in decades. As a retaliation, Israel declared war on Sunday.

 

Palestinian militants continued firing barrages of rockets, setting off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A total of 1,200 people have died since Saturday.

 

Around 700 people have been killed in Israel, a staggering toll for the Jewish nation. In Gaza, over 500 have been killed.

 

'Complete siege of Gaza'

 

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a "complete siege" on Gaza, saying they would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel. Israel and Egypt have imposed various blockade levels on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

 

The chief military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said Israel has control of its border communities. He said there had been some isolated incidents early Monday, 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, meanwhile, guarded openings in the border fence to prevent more infiltrations, Hagari said, adding that 15 of 24 border communities have been evacuated, with the rest expected to be evacuated over the next 24 hours.

 

Earlier, Hamas spokesman 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 painful, lopsided exchange deals in which it released large numbers of prisoners for individual captives or even the remains of soldiers.

 

Meanwhile, Israel hit more than 1,000 targets in Gaza, its military said, including airstrikes that levelled much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the enclave's northeast corner.

 

Hamas has ruled Gaza for 16 years

 

Hamas is deeply rooted in Gaza and has ruled the territory since driving out forces loyal to the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority in 2007. Its rule has gone unchallenged through the 16-year Israeli and Egyptian blockade and four previous wars with Israel.

 

After breaking through Israeli barriers with explosives on Saturday, Hamas gunmen rampaged for hours, gunning down civilians and snatching people in towns, along highways and at a techno music festival attended by thousands in the desert.

 

Palestinian militants have also launched around 5,000 rockets at Israel. The Israeli military estimated that 1,000 Hamas fighters participated in Saturday's initial incursion.

 

The high figure underscored the extent of planning by the militant group, which has said it launched the attack in response to mounting Palestinian suffering under Israel's occupation of the West Bank, its blockade of Gaza, its discriminatory policies in annexed east Jerusalem and tensions around the Al-Aqsa mosque.

 

What do Palestinians want?

 

The Palestinians want a state of their own in all three territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war, but the last serious peace talks broke down well over a decade ago, and Israel's far-right government is opposed to Palestinian statehood.

 

Several were taken captive by Hamas

 

Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group claim to have taken captive more than 130 people from inside Israel and brought them into Gaza.

 

The captives are known to include soldiers and civilians, including women, children and older adults, mostly Israelis but also some people of other nationalities. The Israeli military has said only that the number of captives is significant.

 

The Israeli military was evacuating at least five towns close to Gaza, while the UN said the fighting had displaced more than 123,000 Gazans.

 

Gaza fears heavier retaliation

 

As of late Sunday, Israeli airstrikes had destroyed 159 housing units across the territory and severely damaged 1,210 others, the UN said. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said a school sheltering more than 225 people took a direct hit. It did not say where the fire came from.

 

In the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike early Monday killed 19 people, including women and children. Over the weekend, another airstrike on a home in Rafah killed 19 members of the Abu Quta family, including women and children.

 

Several Israeli media outlets, citing rescue service officials, said those killed on the Israeli side included at least 73 soldiers.

 

The Gaza Health Ministry said 493 people, including 78 children and 41 women, were killed in the territory. Thousands have been wounded on both sides. An Israeli official said security forces have killed 400 militants and captured dozens more.

 

Support from major countries

 

Several countries have come forward to express their solidarity with Israel in the battle. This includes India, USA, UK, Germany, and Canada. On Sunday, the US dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel and said it would send additional military aid.