Israel regains control of towns from Hamas, moves closer to border

Israel said on Tuesday that its military had regained control over towns near Gaza after Palestinian gunmen launched a devastating cross-border assault on Saturday.

Israel’s government approved the call-up of an additional 60,000 reservists, raising the total number mobilized over the last three days to 360,000, the most in such a short period since the country’s founding. The call-ups have touched nearly every corner of the country of 10 million.

It is not yet clear if or when Israel will order a ground invasion of Gaza, an impoverished coastal enclave ruled by Hamas. But the Israeli military said on Tuesday that its airstrikes against the coastal strip would be “bigger than before and more severe” because of the scale of the Palestinian incursion.

The Israeli military said it had recovered the bodies of around 1,500 Palestinian assailants since Saturday morning, offering one of the first clear indications of the size of the assault.

Hamas confirmed that two of its senior officials have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza.

READ ALSO: Over 187,000 flee their home in Gaza as Israeli reprisals kill close to 700

The strikes continued a day after the militant group, which is believed to have taken around 150 Israeli hostages since Saturday, threatened to kill a captive each time Israel strikes Gaza without warning.

Health officials in Gaza said on Tuesday that 830 Palestinians have been killed and 4,250 others have been wounded in the last four days, though it was unclear how many were civilians.

Biden speaks with Netanyahu

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris held a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to talk about their support for Israel

In a tweet, Biden briefly described his call with Netanyahu.

“We connected with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss coordination to support Israel, deter hostile actors, and protect innocent people,” he said on X.

He is expected to make remarks on camera from the State Dining Room.

READ ALSO | War crimes: Israel’s siege punishes Gazans mercilessly