About 1,500 bodies found in Israel as border is secured, says Israeli military

Israelrsquos military said about 1500 bodies of were found in Israeli territory as as it said it had largely gained control in the countryrsquos south and ldquorestored full controlrdquo over the border on the fourth day of fighting following an unprecedented surprise attack The military said that the bodies were allegedly of Hamas militantsSpokesperson Richard Hecht said no Hamas fighters have crossed into Israel since last night although infiltrations could still be possible Israel has previously reported 900 soldiers and civilians killed and Palestinian authorities have reported about 700 deaths in Gaza and the West BankTHIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE Associated Pressrsquos earlier story follows belowRafah The evacuation warning came shortly after dark The Israeli military fired the shot just a short distance from Nasser Abu Qutas home in the southern Gaza Strip a precautionary measure meant to allow people to evacuate before airstrikesAbu Quta 57 thought he and his extended family would be safe some hundred metres yards away from the house that was alerted to the pending strike He huddled with his relatives on the ground floor of his fourstory building bracing for an impact in the areaBut the house of Abu Qutas neighbour was never hit In an instant an explosion ripped through his own home wiping out 19 members of his family including his wife and cousins he said The airstrike also killed five of his neighbours who were standing outside in the jampacked refugee camp a jumble of buildings and alleywaysAlso read An Israeli airstrike kills 19 members of the same family in a Gaza refugee campThe airstrike in Rafah a southern town on the border with Egypt came as Israeli forces intensified their bombardment of targets in the Gaza Strip following a big multifront attack by Hamas militants Saturday that had killed over 700 people in Israel by Sunday night Hamas also took dozens of Israelis hostage and fired thousands of rockets toward Israeli population centres although most were intercepted by the countrys Iron Dome defence systemSo far the waves of airstrikes had killed over 400 Palestinians including dozens of women and children health officials reported Sunday There appeared to be several similar deadly airstrikes on crowded residential buildingsThe Israeli military said late Saturday that it had struck various Hamas offices and command centres in multistory buildingsBut Abu Quta doesnt understand why Israel struck his house There were no militants in his building he insisted and his family was not warned They would not have stayed in their house if they were added his relative KhalidldquoThis is a safe house with children and womenrdquo Abu Quta still shellshocked said as he recalled the tragedy in fragments of detailldquoDust overwhelmed the house There were screamsrdquo he said ldquoThere were no walls It was all openrdquoThe Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the strike on Abu Qutas homeThe army says that it conducts precision strikes aimed at militant commanders or operation sites and that it does not target civilians It also points to its adversaries practice of embedding militants in civilian areas throughout the impoverished coastal enclave of 23 million people which is under a under a severe land air and sea blockade by Israel and EgyptBut human rights groups have previously said that Israels pattern of deadly attacks on residential homes display a disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians and argued they may amount to war crimesIn past wars and rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants individual Israeli airstrikes have killed great numbers of civilians for instance 22 members of the same family in a single strike in a bloody 2021 warAbu Quta was gripped by grief Sunday as he prepared for the rush of burials with his two dozen other surviving relatives including wounded children and grandchildren Many corpses pulled out from under the rubble were charred and mangled he saidWhile he managed to identify the bodies of 14 family members at least four childrens bodies remained in the morgue unrecognisable One body was missingldquoMaybe well put them tomorrow in a single graverdquo he said ldquoMay they rest in peacerdquo