Israel laid “total siege” to the Gaza Strip on Monday, vowing to cut off food, water and electricity supplies to the impoverished enclave as it pounded the Hamas-ruled territory in retaliation for a brazen and bloody incursion that caught Israel’s vaunted security apparatus completely off guard.
Two days after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack from Gaza, killing hundreds of Israelis and abducting scores more, the Israeli army said it had largely regained control of southern settlements close to the Gaza Strip and moved to tighten the noose around the Palestinian enclave.
