SDEROT, Israel − They are finding people in basements and stores. Hiding out in one of the rows of abandoned houses and small apartment blocks. On rooftops.
After regaining territorial control, elite Israeli police and military units are actively searching for remaining gunmen, whenever and wherever they find them, a little less than a week after Hamas stormed this town of 30,000 people on the edge of the Gaza Strip.
“Their food and water supply are running out,” said a sniper in an anti-terrorism police unit in Sderot who USA TODAY spent time with on patrol Wednesday, referring to Hamas militants. “We’re getting more of them now because they need to do something. Move from place to place.”
Over 1,000 Hamas fighters infiltrated 22 towns and army bases in a multi-front attack that caught Israel’s military off guard. For Israel, this represents the biggest intelligence failure in decades − a blow to a country known for having robust security that is the envy of the world.
Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have been killed, and thousands more on both sides injured. Over 100 were kidnapped, including more than a dozen Americans.
Updates:UN agency condemns Israel’s evacuation order in Gaza; Biden on Hamas hostages
Such a dramatic and unprecedented attack set off a panic across the world’s Jewish communities from the U.S. and Mexico to France and beyond along with Israelis scrambling to track down their loved ones. The attacks are being referred to as Israel’s 9/11.
Tuesday…
