UNDER SIEGE
Hamas launch massive rocket barrage on Israeli city as they ‘prepare to post sick vids of hostages begging for lives’
HAMAS bombarded the Israeli city of Ashkelon as fears mount that the terror group is planning to share sickening footage of Israeli hostages.
The militants' warned residents to get out of the port city by 5pm on Tuesday or die before they unleashed explosions on the city.
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The militant group's armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida urged locals to evacuate or face the wrath of their rockets.
He stated the aerial assault was "in response to the enemy’s crime of displacing our people and forcing them to flee their homes in several areas of the Gaza Strip."
Footage showed missiles launched from Gaza raining down above Ashkelon as air raid sirens blared loudly accross the city.
On Tuesday evening Israeli fighter jets hit back with retaliatory airstrikes on the Rafah border, the only land exit from Gaza into Egypt.
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The IDF later said their warplanes had struck Hamas' 'terror hub' in the area of Daraj Tuffah in Gaza, hitting over 70 of the group's strongholds.
Terrified locals carrying their children were seen running for their lives as some rockets made it past Israeli air defence systems and smashed into buildings in Ashkelon.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system could be seen intercepting some Hamas rockets during the attack.
The ambush comes amid fears Hamas are preparing to release disturbing videos of hostages begging for their lives.
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It comes as...
- Hamas blitzed Israel with heavy airstrikes before Israel hit back at their 'terror hub' strongholds in Gaza
- The IDF mobilised 300,000 reservists for a full-scale ground invasion
- More than 3,000 have been confirmed dead in Israel and Gaza and thousands more injured
- PM Netanyahu dubbed Hamas "worse than ISIS" and said Israel will crush them with "a force like never before"
- Hamas terrorists threatened to execute hostages and broadcast grisly footage
- Three British citizens have been confirmed dead, while seven other Britons are missing
On Monday, the armed wing of Hamas said it would begin for every civilian house bombed in Gaza without warning.
Israeli schools contacted parents to immediately remove apps like TikTok and Instagram from their children's phones' so they won't come across graphic content.
Israel earlier urged civilians in Gaza to flee south to Egypt ahead of an all-out ground assault.
Meanwhile, Israel has claimed that Hamas terrorists massacred at least 40 babies and kids in a sickening rampage.
Israeli soldiers discovered the unimaginable scenes of slain children - some beheaded - in Kfar Aza - a village close to the Gaza border that was held for two days by the Hamas militants.
Almost 200,000 people have reportedly been displaced in Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said.
Earlier today, Israeli Major General Itai Veruv compared the Hamas killing of civilians to pogroms of Europe: "It's not a war, it's not a battlefield. It's a massacre."
The Israeli army has massed tanks, artillery, thousands of elite commandos and a further 300,000 reserve troops ready for a ground invasion.
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On Monday morning, Israel imposed a "complete siege" on the area - including a sweeping ban on food and fuel moving into Gaza and an immediate cut-off of the water supply.
"There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed," Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.
"We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly."
Israeli Defence Forces have reportedly also began laying mines to blockade the Gaza Strip.
Following Hamas's threat to execute some of the 150 civilian hostages, Israel unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Monday evening - the worst in the 75-year history of its conflict with Palestine.
Israeli warplanes pounded downtown Gaza as the country's PM vowed retaliation against the terror group.
Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed Hamas as worse than ISIS in a damning speech where he vowed to destroy them.
Netanyahu raged: "Children were executed and entire families were exterminated by Arab Terrorists.
"There were atrocities that I will not describe here. Hamas is ISIS and we will destroy it as the world defeated ISIS."
Over 3,000 people in Israel and Gaza have been killed since the Palestinian militant group stormed the border on Saturday and massacred hundreds in a surprise attack on Saturday.
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Among the victims, there are three Brits while seven more remain missing.
The US government confirmed on Tuesday night that 14 Americans have also been killed in Israel.
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