Israeli-Palestinian Conflict : Israel Is Working 'To Establish Security' As 100,000 Reservists Gather At Gaza Border

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A spokesman for Israel’s military says they “thought we’d be in a better place” by now. Thousands of soldiers and tanks are on the southern border with Gaza waiting for the war’s next phase.

Israel has amassed 100,000 reserve troops in the country’s south as the government declares war on Hamas in retaliation to its surprise attack from the Gaza Strip.

Chief military spokesperson Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel has also drafted a record 300,000 reservists in its response to a multi-front Hamas attack from Gaza and is “going on the offensive.”

“We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale,” he said.

The death toll from the conflict has passed 1,100 and thousands have been injured on both sides since Hamas launched its surprise assault over the weekend.

Israel has brought in special forces to try to wrest control of four sites from Hamas militants, according to the Associated Press.

Sites include two kibbutzim that militants entered earlier in their attacks.

Footage released by Israeli police from one area showed forces kneeling in tall grass as they exchanged fire with Hamas militants across an open field.

IDF International spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter: “Our job is to make sure that at the end of this war, Hamas will no longer have any military capability to threatens Israeli civilians with.”

“And in addition to that, we are to also make sure Hamas will not be able to govern the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Israeli Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht told journalists “it’s taking more time than we expected to get things back into a defensive, security posture”.

At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 400 have been killed in Gaza.

Many Western nations, including Australia, spoke in support of Israel on Monday.

Pro-Palestinian protesters began a rally in Sydney’s CBD before reaching the Sydney Opera House.

The landmark has been lit up in blue and white, the colours of the Israeli flag, an action the Minns government says is a show of support for the people of Israel.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said senators were briefed by senior State Department and Pentagon officials and given assurances the US was giving Israel “everything they need”.

“I asked them if they have denied any requests that Israel has made, and they said no,” he said in a statement.

“I urged them to ensure Israel has everything it needs to protect itself, and reiterated that the Senate stands ready to deliver on additional needs.”

Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, has disagreed with US claims the nation did not denounce the Saturday attack.

Hungary is currently evacuating 110 more people from Israel, bringing the total number of people it has brought out of the country to 325, including 46 children, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Facebook.

More than 123,000 Gaza residents displaced

Meanwhile, the United Nations says the number of displaced Gazans has risen to more than 123,000.

As of late Sunday (local time), retaliatory Israeli air-strikes had destroyed 159 housing units across Gaza and severely damaged 1,210 others, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said a school sheltering more than 225 people took a direct hit.

It did not say where the fire came from.

Oil soars, business disrupted

Oil prices have also soared more than 4 per cent Monday, sparking concerns about possible supply shocks from the crude-rich region, according to AFP.

Brent jumped 4.7 per cent to $US86.65 ($136.36) and West Texas Intermediate was up 4.5 per cent at $US88.39 ($139.07) in early Asian business.

Israeli stock and bond prices also slid and many businesses closed.

There are concerns high-tech industries, the fastest growing sector in Israel, could be hit by security disruptions.

“It is a huge disruption to business as usual,” chief investment officer and founding partner at Cresset Wealth Advisors, Jack Ablin, said.

He said in the short term, resources could be diverted if the conflict expanded, such as staff at tech companies being called up as military reservists.

‘Mighty vengeance’ after surprise attack

Speaking on national television, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Hamas would “pay an unprecedented price” for a surprise attack on Israel.

In a statement, his office said the aim would be the destruction of Hamas’s “military and governing capabilities” to an extent that prevented it from threatening Israelis “for many years”.

As many as 1,000 Hamas militants were involved in the assault that lasted for hours, the gunmen firing on civilians in towns, along highways and at a music festival being held in the desert near Gaza.