Israeli Air Force Continues Mass Strikes In Gaza As Hamas Terror Attack Death Toll Crosses 700: Five Highlights

The number of people killed in Palestinian terrorist group Hamas' shock attack on Israeli towns has risen to over 700 and is expected to rise as the terror outfit is holding dozens more as hostages.

In response to the Hamas attack, the deadliest incursion into Israeli territory since Egypt and Syria's attacks in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, Israel launched air strikes on Hamas officials in Gaza on Sunday, killing more than 400 people.

Here are the highlights of the developments so far in Israel-Hamas conflict.

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) strike 500 targets in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday (9 October) said it hit more than 500 targets in the strikes, including eight Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad war rooms, several high-rise towers housing Hamas assets, a mosque housing Hamas assets, and three tunnels in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a top spokesperson of the IDF, told reporters that there are still six sites of active fighting in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip.

Fighting is ongoing in Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Nirim and Alumim, he said.

Some of the terrorists have been in Israel since the preliminary attack on Saturday, while others crossed the border over the past two days.

Hamas was reportedly preparing for the attack for years

The Palestinian terror organisation reportedly conducted a years-long campaign to fool Israel into thinking the group did not desire armed conflict and could be placated with economic incentives to maintain relative calm.

“Hamas gave Israel the impression that it was not ready for a fight,” a source close to Hamas told the Reuters.

“Hamas used an unprecedented intelligence tactic to mislead Israel over the last months, by giving a public impression that it was not willing to go into a fight or confrontation with Israel while preparing for this massive operation," the source added.

He said that as part of its preparations, the terror organization built a mock Israeli community to train in.

“Israel surely saw them but they were convinced that Hamas wasn’t keen on getting into a confrontation,” he said.

“Hamas was able to build a whole image that it was not ready for a military adventure against Israel,” the source added.

The United States has started moving its its USS Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean in a bid to prevent further escalation of the conflict.

The US carrier strike group includes US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60), as well as the Arleigh-Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), USS Ramage (DDG 61), USS Carney (DDG 64), and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80).

"We have also taken steps to augment U.S. Air Force F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region. The U.S. maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this posture if required," the US Centcom said in a statement on Sunday.

"USCENTCOM stands firmly with our Israeli and regional partners to address the risks of any party seeking to expand the conflict," said General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, Commander, U S Central Command.

Iran reportedly helped Hamas plan the attack

Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas’s Saturday surprise attack on Israel and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut last Monday, Wall Street Journal reported citing senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Iran-backed militant group.

However, a spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations said the Islamic Republic stood in support of Gaza’s actions but didn’t direct them.

"The decisions made by the Palestinian resistance are fiercely autonomous and unwaveringly aligned with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people," the spokesman said.

"We are not involved in Palestine’s response, as it is taken solely by Palestine itself," he added.

Israel hints at taking control of the Gaza strip

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said their focus is taking control of the Gaza Strip as the conflict enters a second day.

“The significant thing that preoccupies us right now is the stabilization of control in the Gaza Strip," IDF internationalsSpokesperson, Lt Col Richard Hecht, told a briefing Sunday, CNN reported.

“We have targets for the next 12 hours: to end the Gaza enclave. To control the entire enclave and kill all the terrorists in our territory,” Hecht said.

“We are probably going to try to evict certain communities in areas of Gaza. As the day goes on, we might evict people from certain areas of Gaza," the IDF spokesperson added.