Bodies of 1,500 Hamas operatives found around Gaza strip

Around 1,500 bodies of Hamas operatives have been found in Israel around the Gaza Strip, the army said Tuesday, as it pummelled the Palestinian enclave with air strikes.

More than 700 people were killed in Israel by Hamas fighters who breached the border from Gaza, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Maj. Ben Wahlhaus told CNN on Sunday.

“Approximately 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants were found in Israel around the Gaza Strip,” military spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters, adding that security forces had “more or less restored control over the border” with Gaza.

“Since last night we know that no one came in  … But infiltrations can still happen.”

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The army had “nearly completed” evacuation of all the communities around the border, he added.

Israel is reeling under a deadly attack by Hamas operatives who entered through the border fence under a barrage of rocket fire on Saturday morning and killed more than 900 people inside Israel.

In response, Israel is carrying out a massive air and artillery bombardment of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip that has so far killed at least 687 people in the coastal enclave.

The militant group’s unprecedented incursion prompted vows of retribution from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who declared that his country was at war, pledging a “mighty vengeance for this black day.”

By Monday, the retaliation was in full swing, as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza.