Israel-Hamas war enters third day; here is all you need to know

New Delhi: The Israeli government promised Monday to hunt down Hamas fighters and to punish the Gaza Strip following a surprise weekend attack killed more than 900 people in Israel, including at least 260 at a crowded music festival that became the scene of one of the country's worst civilian massacres.

A day after formally declaring war, Israel's military worked to crush Hamas fighters who might remain in southern towns and intensified its bombardment of Gaza, where almost 500 people have died since Saturday's unprecedented incursion.

The militants blew through a fortified border fence and gunned down civilians and soldiers in Israeli communities along the Gaza frontier during a Jewish holiday. Israel struck back with airstrikes, including one that flattened a 14-story tower that held Hamas offices.

Here are some key takeaways from the conflict:

WHAT DOES THE WAR DECLARATION MEAN?

The declaration gave the green light for Israel to take "significant military steps" against Hamas. The army called up around 3,00,000 reservists, and a major question was whether the Israeli military would launch a ground assault into Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that he has ordered a "complete siege" on Gaza and that authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel to the Palestinian territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in a televised announcement later Monday that the offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip "has only started."

"We have only started striking Hamas," he said. "What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations."

Israel had hit more than 1,000 targets in Gaza as of Monday, its military said. Airstrikes leveled much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the enclave's northeast corner. Hamas had been using the town as a staging ground for attacks, the military said.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE FROM THE U.S. AND OTHER NATIONS?

The U.S. has already begun delivering critically needed munitions and military equipment to Israel, and the Pentagon is reviewing inventories to see what else can be sent quickly to boost its ally in the three-day-old war with Hamas, a senior Defense Department official said Monday.

The official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive shipments. The weapons movement came as President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. death toll in the war has gone up to 11.

U.S. President Joe Biden plans to speak with several allies Monday regarding the situation in Israel, according to the White House.

The leaders of numerous Western nations, including Britain and Germany, have condemned the attacks by Hamas, while Arab nations have urged that the fighting on both sides stop.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the situation in Israel with Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak late Monday.

Meanwhile, the European Union late Monday reversed an earlier announcement by an EU commissioner that the bloc was "immediately" suspending development aid for Palestinian authorities and instead said it would urgently review such assistance in the wake of the attacks on Israel by Hamas to make sure no money was misused.

Arab foreign ministers plan to convene Wednesday in Cairo at the behest of the Palestinians. Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki said the ministers would discuss Arab efforts to "stop the Israeli aggression" on Gaza.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on both Hamas militants and Israeli forces to stop violence and offered to mediate between the two parties. Speaking after a meeting with his cabinet on Monday, Erdogan said that a "door to peace" will open if the Israeli administration "stops it's bombardments of Palestinian lands" and its "harassment" of Palestinians in Israel".

China, meanwhile, issued a strengthened statement condemning the killing and kidnapping of Israeli and foreign civilians by Hamas, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer noted Monday. The statement came from during a bipartisan congressional visit to Beijing that included a lengthy meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Supporters of Israel and backers of the Palestinian cause held competing rallies in several American cities Sunday and in London; Athens, Greece, and France on Monday.

WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF THE WAR?

Major airlines have suspended flights in and out of Israel. Scores of arriving and departing flights at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport were cancelled or delayed, according to the airport's online flight board, which also showed a steady trickle of flights. Most were operated by Israel's national airline El Al along with others by regional carriers like Turkey's Pegasus Airlines and Greece's Blue Bird Airways.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines suspended service as the U.S. State Department issued travel advisories for the region citing potential for terrorism and civil unrest.

WHY DID THE ATTACK TAKE ISRAEL BY SURPRISE?

Israel's eyes appeared to have been closed in the lead-up to the attack by Hamas, which broke down Israeli border barriers and sent hundreds of militants into Israel.

"This is a major failure," said Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "This operation actually proves that the (intelligence) abilities in Gaza were no good."

Amidror declined to offer an explanation for the failure, saying lessons must be learned when the dust settles.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, acknowledged the army owes the public an explanation. But he said now is not the time. "First, we fight, then we investigate," he said.

Some say it is too early to pin the blame solely on an intelligence fault. They point to a wave of low-level violence in the West Bank that shifted some military resources there and the political chaos roiling Israel over steps by Netanyahu's far-right government to overhaul the judiciary. The controversial plan has threatened the cohesion of the country's powerful military.

WHAT PROMPTED THE ATTACK?

Hamas officials cited long-simmering tensions including a dispute over the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Competing claims over the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.

In recent years, Israeli religious nationalists such as Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister have increased their visits to the compound. Last week, during the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli activists visited the site, prompting condemnation from Hamas and accusations that Jews were praying there in violation of the status quo agreement.

Hamas also has cited the expansion of Jewish settlements on lands Palestinians claim for a future state and Ben-Gvir's efforts to toughen restrictions on Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Tensions escalated with recent violent Palestinian protests. In negotiations with Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations, Hamas has pushed for Israeli concessions that could loosen the 17-year blockade on the enclave and help halt a worsening financial crisis. (AP)