Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling struck over 500 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Israeli military said Monday as it fought to regain control of the desert areas around Gaza. The total death toll from both sides surged to more than 1,100 by Monday, the third day of clashes. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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7:09am: Battle with Hamas gunmen taking ‘more time’ than expected, says IDF
Israeli forces are fighting Hamas gunmen at seven to eight points outside Gaza, an Israeli military spokesperson said on Monday, 48 hours after the biggest attack on the country in decades.
“It’s taking more time than we expected to get things back into a defensive, security posture,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told a briefing with journalists.
7:01am: Dozen Thai nationals killed in conflict, says Thai foreign ministry
Twelve Thais have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants, the kingdom’s government said Monday as it prepared a plan to evacuate its citizens.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke said the Thai embassy in Israel learned of the deaths from the victims’ employers.
She said a further eight Thais had been wounded and 11 taken captive since the war erupted when Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Saturday.
There are around 30,000 Thai workers in Israel, according to Bangkok’s labour ministry, many of them working in agriculture.
Thai air force planes were on standby to fly citizens home, though the date and other details of any evacuation were still being worked on, said Kanchana.
6:54am: Israel strikes more than 500 targets overnight in Gaza, says IDF
Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling struck more than 500 targets belonging to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Israeli military said Monday.
“Overnight IDF (Israeli army) fighter jets, helicopters, aircraft and artillery…
