Bombs rain down on Gaza as Hamas and Israel war escalates

Airstrikes continued in the Gaza region on Monday as Israeli officials ordered a “complete siege” of the region following a surprise attack by Palestinian terror group Hamas over the weekend.

Israel cut off all food, electricity, medicine, water and gas for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Galland said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza were "just the beginning".

“We haven’t seen atrocities of the kind Hamas is committing since the atrocities of the Islamic State,” Mr Netanyahu said.

At least 687 people were killed in the Gaza Strip and thousands injured by Monday evening, Palestinian officials revealed.

Hamas said it had taken “dozens” of soldiers hostage since Saturday's surprise attack on Israel where it launched thousands of rockets and conducted air and land attacks.

Israel responded to the attacks by Hamas with a “complete siege” on Gaza as it vowed to respond with a force “like never before”.