A senior Hamas commander has warned that his terror group sees dominance of Israel as only the beginning – as Israel took revenge on Hamas for killing 900 of its citizens in weekend attacks.
The dead included 11 Americans, Joe Biden confirmed on Monday.
Deborah and Shlomi Matias were killed by armed men from Hamas who stormed their home on Saturday: their 16-year-old son survived when his mother threw herself on top of him.
And the 18-year-old from Chicago, Natalie Raanan, and her mother Judith (59) are among the missing.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in the early hours of Tuesday that it had “more or less” restored full control of its border fence with Gaza, after Hamas attackers broke through it on Saturday.
Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas leader, stated in December that they envisioned controlling an area far outside of Israel
The night sky above Gaza is lit up on Monday evening, in response to Saturday’s attacks
Several targets across the enclave were hit overnight on Monday
IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said at a briefing: ‘Looking to the south, we have more or less restored full control of the border fence.
“Hopefully it will be final in the next few hours.”
Hecht said Israeli forces have secured communities around the border and have nearly completed evacuations in the area.
Another IDF spokesman, Lt. col. Jonathan Conricus, said the military has strengthened its presence along the border with Lebanon, which added tens of thousands of additional troops.
As Israel bombarded Gaza overnight, footage of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar re-emerged, with the group’s 78-year-old co-founder vowing to control an area far beyond Israel.
“When we talk about the army of Jerusalem and the Battle of the Promise of the Hereafter, we are not talking about the liberation of our country alone,” he told MEMRI TV in December – a news channel of the Israeli-founded DC – based Middle East Media Research Institute.
‘We believe in what our Prophet Muhammad said: ‘Allah has brought the ends of the world close together for my sake, and I have seen its eastern and western ends. The rule of my nation would accomplish those ends drawn near me.’
Al-Zahar said he believes eventually the whole world will align with their views.
“The entire 510 million square kilometers of Planet Earth will come under (a system) where there is no injustice, no oppression, no Zionism, no treacherous Christianity and no murders and crimes like those committed against the Palestinians and against the Arabs in all the Arab countries, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries,’ he said.
Israel was engaged in a powerful retaliation for the weekend’s bloodshed on Monday night.
Bombs fell on Gaza, and plans were reportedly drawn up for a full-scale invasion of the enclave.
The Israeli Air Force claimed to have hit 200 Hamas and other militant group targets in Gaza with airstrikes overnight.
The IAF wrote on social media that dozens of fighter jets launched strikes on the Rimal and Khan Yunis areas, destroying targets including command and control centers; an arms cache they said was inside a mosque, and the home of a suspected Hamas commander.
Video shows how the sky of Gaza is lit up on Monday night.
Initial reports suggested the blasts were an attack on Al-Badrasawi Tower in northern Gaza, which was apparently used as a weapons store.
Another video, shared by former US ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman, shows long lines of parked cars of reservists rushing to sign up to join the fight.
Long lines of cars are seen parked by Israeli reservists, reporting for duty
The footage was shared by the former US ambassador to Israel
‘Every able-bodied soldier right, left and center shows up for combat duty. Just look at this parking lot for the reservists,’ he posted on X.
On Monday, Israel’s chief military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said 300,000 reservists had been called up as Israel “goes on the offensive.”
‘We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale. We’re going on the offensive.’
He confirmed that 73 members of the Israeli security forces have been killed so far.
While much confusion remained about the number of missing and dead, and the fate of those who disappeared, some victims’ details were shared.
Deborah Matias, an American citizen who lived in Israel, was shot dead by Hamas gunmen while shielding her teenage son from their bullets, her father said.
Ilan Troen, a professor emeritus of Brandeis University in Massachusetts, tells CNN: ‘We were on the phone with Deborah when she was killed.
“We were on the phone all day with our grandson, Rotem, as he first lay under her body, then found an escape under a blanket in a laundry.”
He said Rotem was shot in the stomach but is expected to survive.
Deborah and Shlomi Matias were killed by Hamas gunmen who stormed their home on Saturday: their 16-year-old son survived when his mother threw herself on top of him
Rotem hid and texted on his phone for more than 12 hours after he was shot to communicate with people coaching him on how to breathe and how to manage “the blood coming from his abdomen,” Rotem said. Troen said.
He said Rotem’s phone was down to a 4 percent charge when he was rescued.
“The sharpness of the shot was borne by his mother,” he said.
“The terrorists that came, they had explosives and blew up the front door to their house and then blew out the front door to their so-called safe room.”
Deborah Matias was a musician who attended the Rimon Music School in the Tel Aviv area, where she met her husband.
“Deborah was a child of light and life,” Troen said.
“She, rather than becoming a scientist or a doctor, one day said to me: ‘Dad, I must do music because it is in my soul.’
Another confirmed victim was a high-flying American academic who was shot dead by Hamas terrorists who burst into his home and found him in a closet.
The US-born Dr. Hayim Katsman, 32, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2021, was murdered along with a female neighbor in his home in Israel.
The US-born Dr. Hayim Katsman was shot dead by Hamas terrorists in his home in Israel on Saturday
His mother, Hannah Katsman (right), said she had been inundated with tributes to her son
Hamas terrorists attacked the house of dr. Katsman burst in and shot him and a female neighbor
Dr. Katsman has a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, but also appeared to be an avid musician and DJ, according to his social media profile
Dr. Katsman has had a special interest in Israel-Palestine relations in his academic work
Dr. Katsman’s mother, Hannah, said she initially thought her son had been taken hostage, but later found out he had been killed.
“I got so many messages from people who worked with Hayim or who knew him, or who met him during their travels and how warm he was, how open,” Hannah Katsman told ABC News.
‘He was a very accepting person and a very loyal friend. He had a good sense of humor. He took things easy.’
Dr. Katsman lived and conducted research on a kibbutz – a Jewish community – in Israel, his mother said.
A statement released by the Association for Israel Studies described the slain academic as “an emerging scholar in the field of Israel studies,” who is “deeply committed to community service.”
His volunteer activities included co-coordinating the Israel/Palestine Research Group at the University of Washington, the statement added.
Friends and family of Natalie and Judith Raanan were desperately hoping for good news after the two disappeared on Saturday.
They traveled to Israel from their home in Evanston, Illinois, in September to visit family.
The mother and daughter were last seen in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz about 1.5 miles from the Gaza border.
Their kibbutz was attacked by militants.
Natalie Raanan, of Evanston, Illinois, traveled to Israel in September. She disappeared on Saturday with her mother, Judith
Uri Raanan, Natalie’s father and Judith’s ex-husband, wrote on Facebook: ‘My daughter and her mother were captured by HAMAS.’
Rabbi Meir Hecht, associate director of community outreach for the Chabad of Evanston, said Judith Raanan has been a faithful congregant for a decade.
“She is an extremely warm, kind, giving, generous woman,” Hecht said Chicago Sun-Times.
‘She was always involved in helping people and being there to show support when someone needed a shoulder to lean on. She is a very nice woman.’
Politicians representing the pair – Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, whose district includes Evanston, and Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth – contacted the State Department to find out if the women had been kidnapped and try to get them to safety.
Joe Biden will speak about the attacks on Tuesday.