1,500 Hamas militants found dead in Israel as airstrikes bombard Gaza

More than 900 Israelis and 687 Palestinians have so far died in the conflict

Bodies of around 1,500 Hamas militants have been found in Israel, the Israeli government has said, as bombardment of the territory continues.

The Israeli government said it had finally secured its border with Gaza and asked the US for more weapons, as it called up a record number of reservists to its military.

An update from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said more than 900 Israelis had been killed in the conflict so far, while 50 families had been informed that loved ones had been taken hostage.

This aerial photo show heavily damaged buildings following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City (Photo by BELAL AL SABBAGH / AFP)

Meanwhile, authorities in Gaza said at least 687 Palestinians have been killed – including militants who were killed in Israel in addition to those who have since died in Gaza in retaliatory attacks.

The IDF added it had struck 1,352 targets in Gaza, where aid organisations are warning of a humanitarian crisis following a siege by Israel, which has blocked food, energy and others supplies from entering the territory. Israeli air strikes have hammered Gaza, hitting more than 200 targets overnight.

Two Palestinian journalists were among those killed in Gaza. Saeed Al-Taweel and Muhammad Sobh worked for local Palestinian media outlets and had been covering the evacuation of an apartment building being evacuated before a planned strike by Israel, the Gazan media office said.

Around 300,000 reservists have been called up in Israel – the largest number in its history. Most young people have to do compulsory military service after they finish school.

An Israeli army Merkava tank blocks one of the entrances to the northern Israeli kibbutz of Misgav Am near the border with Lebanon. Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed three Hezbollah members amid surging tensions after Palestinian militants tried to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon, in an escalation on Israel's northern border two days after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on the country's southern flank from the blockaded Gaza Strip. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, the Glasgow born international spokesman for the IDF, said the military is "building infrastructure for future operations".

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed three members of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah amid surging tensions after Palestinian militants tried to infiltrate Israel from the country, in an escalation on Israel's northern border.

Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, appears to have ruled out possible prisoner exchanges as long as the conflict continues.

“This file will be not be opened until the end of the battle,” he said.

This comes as UK foreign secretary James Cleverly urged pro-Palestinian protesters to stay at home, warning “it causes distress”.

He said: “There is no need, there’s no necessity for people to come out. It causes distress. This is a difficult, delicate situation.”

He said that the protests were causing concern in the Jewish community, “who have often been on the receiving end of prejudice and threats of violence”.

Mt Cleverly also insisted there was no “equivalence” between the level of the attacks by Hamas on Israel on Saturday and the Israeli government’s response.

He said: “The truth is that the reason we express our solidarity with the people of Israel is because terrorists took action to murder, to kidnap, and we’re now seeing reports that they are threatening to execute people that they have kidnapped.

“The idea that somehow there is an equivalence, there is a kind of a balancing act between the actions of the Israeli government and their self defence, and the actions of Hamas and their terrorists, is completely inappropriate."

He added: “I wouldn’t want to do anything which would imply that to be the case. Of course, we want to see the minimisation of loss of life.”