Israel intensified its assault on Gaza Tuesday, stepping up rocket attacks and tightening a blockade on food, fuel and medicines as the war sprawled into a fourth day.
The Israel Defense Forces said it regained control over the border with the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, three days after Hamas militants crashed through a barrier and launched an invasion that saw over 1,000 Israelis killed or kidnapped. At least 14 Americans are among the dead, U.S. officials said.
Israeli Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said the bodies of 1,500 militants were found around southern Israel. Another 900 people have been killed and 4,500 injured in Israeli strikes in Gaza, Hamas health officials said.
“There is no safe place in Gaza right now. You see decent people being killed every day,” Hasan Jabar said after three fellow journalists were killed in the ferocious bombardment.
More than 200,000 people in Gaza have fled their homes, the U.N. said, as the violence shows no sign of abating. Three militants were killed after a gun battle in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, which was also the site of a rocket attack, Israel’s military said.
Israel’s overwhelming response may foreshadow a concerted attempt to end Hamas’ reign, some experts believe, in contrast to the four previous conflicts since 2008, which essentially ended with the sides deadlocked and the militant organization still in power.
“The objective is for this war to end very differently from all of the previous rounds,” said Chuck…
