AGENCIES

Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip yesterday and cut off utility supplies as it kept bombing targets in the crowded Palestinian enclave in response to the Hamas surprise assault.

Reeling from the Islamist group’s unprecedented ground, air and sea attacks, Israel has counted over 800 dead and launched a withering barrage of strikes on Gaza that have killed 560 people there.

The skies over Gaza were blackened by plumes of smoke from deafening explosions as Hamas kept launching rockets as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where missile defence systems fired and air raid sirens blared.

Hamas -- whose militants surged into Israeli towns on Saturday, spraying gunfire at civilians and dragging off about 100 hostages – yesterday claimed that Israeli air strikes had killed four of the captives.

It also threatened to kill hostages if the air strikes on Gaza continues.

The Israeli military said it had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists for its “Swords of Iron” campaign and was imposing a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, signs it could

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