Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza

Israelrsquos military scoured the countryrsquos south for Hamas fighters and guarded breaches in its border fence with tanks on Monday as it pounded the Gaza Strip from the air and mustered for a campaign its prime minister said would destroy ldquothe military and governing capabilitiesrdquo of the militant groupThe military said the fighting had largely died down for now but Palestinian militants continued firing barrages of rockets setting off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel AvivFrom left Protesters show support for Palestinians during a rally in Sydney Israelis inspect a damaged building hit by a rocket fired from Gaza Palestinians rally in support of Gaza in the occupied West Bank PicsAPAround 700 people have been killed in Israel while nearly 500 have been killed in Gaza a tiny impoverished enclave of 23 million Palestinians bordering Israel and Egypt More than 2000 people have been wounded so farIsraeli tanks and drones meanwhile guarded openings in the border fence to prevent more infiltrations while 15 of 24 border communities have been evacuated with the rest expected to be evacuated in over the next 24 hours wIsrael hit more than 1000 targets in Gaza its military said including airstrikes that leveled much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the enclaversquos northeast2000No of people wounded in the fighting so farIranian officials helped Hamas plan ReportA captured Israeli civilian center being taken into the Gaza StripIranian security officials helped Hamas plan the deadly attack on Israel in which the death toll has risen to thousands the Wall Street Journal reported According to senior members of terrorist groups Hamaz and Hezbollah Iran gave approval for the assault at a meeting held in Beirut last Monday as per the reportOfficers of Iranrsquos Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC had worked with Hamas since August to devise the air land and sea incursionsDetails regarding the operation were refined during several meetings that were held in Beirut IRGC officers and representatives of four Iranbacked terrorist groups including Hamas and Hezbollah attended these meetings according to sources cited by the Wall Street JournalMore than 130 held hostage in GazaA senior Hamas official says the militant group is holding more than 100 people captive after its unprecedented assault on Israel Mousa Abu Marzouk made the remarks Sunday to the Arabic language news outlet alGhad The figure is in addition to more than 30 people said to be held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group During their rampage militants dragged back into Gaza dozens of captives including childrenIsraeli and Palestinian supporters rally in USSupporters of Israel and backers of the Palestinian cause held competing rallies in several American cities Sunday over the conflict that has killed hundreds and wounded thousands in the Middle East In New York City a skirmish broke out between opposing demonstrators near the United Nations compound after a large group of Palestinian supporters rallied in Times Square Palestinian Americans protested outside the Israeli consulates in Atlanta and Chicago Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a Jewish community gathering to support Israel at a synagogue in San Francisco The US has ordered naval forces deployed to the Eastern MediterraneanOver 1 lakh Gazans have been displacedThe UN says the number of displaced Gazans has risen to more than 123000 as a result of the fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas As of late Sunday retaliatory Israeli airstrikes had destroyed 159 housing units across Gaza and severely damaged 1210 others according to the UN Meanwhile the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said a school sheltering more than 225 people took a direct hit10 Nepali students dead others worryTen Nepali students have been killed and four others injured in Israel after Hamas launched a wave of rocket attacks in the countryrsquos southern region Nepalrsquos foreign ministry said on Monday Meanwhile some of the students who are stranded in a bunker sent a video message asking the Nepalese government to take immediate steps to evacuate them There are currently around 4765 Nepali nationals in IsraelThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever