Israel calls for complete siege of Gaza as it masses troops at border
JERUSALEM — Israel battled Hamas infiltrators for a third day Monday, massing tens of thousands of troops near the Gaza Strip and making moves toward a full siege of the seaside territory, which Palestinian militants used as a springboard for the biggest attack in decades on Israeli soil.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called for a “complete closure” of the Mediterranean enclave, telling army commanders in southern Israel that “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” would be allowed into Gaza, which is home to about 2.3 million people.
Israel has long controlled all formal points of access to the Gaza Strip. It already cut off the territory’s power supply soon after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Saturday by land, sea and air — a devastating strike whose scope, complexity and loss of life had military historians reaching back half a century for comparisons.
Stunned Israelis were referring to the assault as the country’s
