JERUSALEM: Fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants was ongoing Monday (Oct 9) in seven to eight locations around the Gaza Strip inside Israel, the army said.
"We're still fighting. There are between seven to eight open places around Gaza (where) we have still warriors fighting terrorists," military spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters, two days after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack on Israel.
We thought by yesterday we would have full control. I hope we will by the end of the day."
During the night, Israel carried out more than 500 air and artillery strikes targeting Hamas and another militant faction Islamic Jihad Islamic in the coastal enclave.
The death toll from the fighting has soared above 1,100.
Hamas killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens more as they attacked Israeli towns on Saturday, the deadliest incursion into Israeli territory since Egypt and Syria's attacks in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago.
In response, Israeli air strikes hit housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque and homes of Hamas officials in Gaza on Sunday, killing more than 400 people, including 20 children, in keeping with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow of "mighty vengeance".