Israel’s military have regained control of all towns on the Gaza border from Hamas terrorists following fighting overnight, officials have said.
The Israeli Air Force also stepped-up bombardments of the Strip on Sunday night after Hamas launched an assault on Israel in the early hours of Saturday.
Israeli forces said it dropped some 2,000 munitions and more than 1,000 bombs on Gaza aimed at over 8,000 targets.
Among the targets were three rocket launchers directed at Israel, a mosque where terrorists were operating and 21 high-rise buildings.
Israeli forces outside the entrance to the southern Israeli town of Sderot (Photo: Flash 90)
In a statement on Monday morning, IDF military spokesperson Major Nir Dinar said: “This is our 9/11… They got us.”
The Hamas terror group have so far killed at least 700 Israelis and wounded more than 2,300 on Saturday in a massive offensive launched from the Gaza Strip, that included the launch of thousands of rockets at the Jewish state.
Of the 2,382 wounded, 22 remain in critical condition, according to the Israeli Health Ministry’s most recent figures. In addition, 345 Israelis sustained severe wounds.
Hamas also continued to attack communities in southern and central Israel with rockets overnight on Sunday, with the terror group claiming that it fired 100 projectiles toward the city of Ashkelon.
Meanwhile, authorities in the southern city of Sderot ordered residents of the town to remain locked in their homes due to “fears of a security incident.”
Israeli forces demolish a police station in Sderot where a number of Hamas terrorists were holed up (Photo: Flash 90)
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, another IDF spokesman, said incidents of clashes between troops and Hamas terrorists in the last few hours had been “isolated.”
However, Hagari stated it was “possible there were still terrorists in the area.” He added that breaches of the Gaza border barrier would be physically secured by tanks.
The army has so far evacuated 15 out of 24 towns on the border and will continue to evacuate the others in the coming day.
