Israel's defence minister orders 'complete siege' of Gaza

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Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a "complete siege" on Gaza, saying authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel, two days after Hamas fighters unleashed a barrage of rockets and infiltrated southern Israeli towns during an unprecedented incursion from the Palestinian territory.

At the same time, Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz said he has ordered an immediate cutoff of Israel's water supplies to Hamas-run Gaza, saying "What was in the past, will no longer be in the future."

Israel's military reported success on Monday in driving Hamas fighters out of communities that were overrun, while Israeli forces pounded the Gaza Strip from the air and prepared for a campaign Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would destroy "the military and governing capabilities" of the militant group.

Civilians have paid a high price on both sides. At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel and more than 400 have been killed in Gaza in the deadliest raid into Israeli territory since Egypt and Syria's attacks in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago. Some 2,000 people have been wounded on each side.

Palestinian militant groups claimed to be holding over 130 captives from the Israeli side.

While the Israeli military said fighting in border towns has largely died down for now, it continued to fight Hamas in "seven to eight" places in southern Israel.

In addition, Palestinian militants continued firing barrages of rockets, setting off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. There are also reports that Hamas on Monday fired dozens of rockets toward the southern Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon in response to Israeli airstrikes.

Israeli military spokesperson Richard Hecht said there were still multiple breaches in the border, which he said Hamas could be using to bring in more fighters and weapons.

On Monday, the Israeli Defence Forces said 70 additional militants infiltrated Be'eri kibbutz overnight.

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.

Israeli Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters Hamas was using the town as a staging ground for attacks. There was no immediate word on casualties, and most of the community's population of tens of thousands likely fled beforehand.

Home to some two million people, the Gaza Strip has been run by Hamas since it seized control of the territory in 2007. However an independent UN Human Rights commission last year found Israel has continued to occupy Gaza despite disengaging in 2005, by effectively controlling movement in and out of its borders and the supply of essentials like water and electricity. 

Gaza's economy has long been choked by a blockade imposed by Israel with Egypt's help — one that has been "widely condemned as a policy that may amount to collective punishment," according to the UN.