‘Despicable attack on Israeli civilians’: Senate Intelligence Committee to monitor

At dawn on Saturday, during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel with rocket fire.

According to Reuters, hundreds of Hamas fighters were killed in Israel and dozens captured. The Israel death told stood at 500 by Monday afternoon, 2,700 wounded and 80,000 persons displaced from Gaza.

By Monday evening, Yahoo News reported the death toll in Israel at 1,500.

“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday. “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia is chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and responded to the terrorist attack on Israel.

“Today, Hamas terrorists launched an unprovoked and despicable attack on Israeli civilians. The United States must stand firmly beside our friend and partner Israel as it defends its security and its citizens. The Senate Intelligence Committee will continue to monitor the situation closely.”