Israel's Security Cabinet decided to stop the flow of electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza in retaliation for its attack on Southern Israel in which over 300 people were killed on Saturday.It was one of a number of decisions the security cabinet took in a late-night meeting to destroy both the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Prime Minister's Office said.The decisions taken would thwart "their ability and desire to threaten and harm the citizens of Israel for many years to come," the PMO added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "We are embarking on a long and difficult war. The war was forced upon us by a murderous attack by Hamas.
"The first phase ends in these hours with the destruction of the majority of the enemy forces that penetrated our territory. At the same time, we started the offensive formation, and it will continue without reservation and without respite until the objectives are achieved," he said at the end of the cabinet.
"We've launched our offensive operations"
Israel controls two of the three major crossings into Gaza, the commercial one at Kerem Shalom and the pedestrian one at Erez. The third one at Rafah is controlled by Egypt, but it does not have sufficient commercial capacity to serve the Gaza Strip.