Australian grandmother killed in Israeli kibbutz as Hamas issue ultimatum: we will televise Israeli hostage executions

The body of a Sydney-born grandmother has been found just metres from the door of her home in the Be-Eri kibbutz.

Galit Carbone, 66, far right, who was born and raised in Sydney before settling in Israel in her late teens, was killed by Hamas on Saturday. Galit was a mother of three and grandmother of two. Picture: supplied

Sydney-born grandmother Galit Carbone is among those killed in Israel, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has confirmed

The 66-year-old Australian-born grandmother’s lifeless body was found just metres from the door of her home in the Be-Eri kibbutz, just 5km from the Gaza border, where she had previously worked as a librarian and raised her three children.

Ms Carbone, born in Sydney is the first known Australian victim of the brutal conflict.

Her cousin Julian Cappe said the family was “numb” after getting confirmation she had been killed. “We’re not sure if she was killed in her home or dragged out and killed, but her body was not found in her house,” Mr Cappe said.

Galit Carbone, left, with her daughter Maia, centre, and Nicole, right. Picture: supplied

Ms O’Neil said she is “devastated” by the death of Galit who died after militants went door to door forcing residents out of their homes.

“This is heartbreaking news this morning for the family of this particular individual, her community here in Australia … our hearts absolutely go out to her,” Ms O’Neil said.

“I’m devastated for the people who knew her, but also the broader Jewish Australian community.

“We’ve got brothers and sisters of the Jewish religion around our country who are suffering greatly from what is a brutal, violent, abhorrent and completely unjustified act of terrorism against their country and their citizens.”

Ten thousand Australians live in Israel.

The Hamas terrorist group has threatened to record executions of Israeli hostages unless the Jewish state winds back its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in a brutal ultimatum for the country as it prepares massive retribution against the militant group.

The warning came as Israel ­ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza in preparation for an offensive, halting the flow of food, water, electricity and fuel into the Palestinian enclave as it activated a ­record 300,000 reservists for its “Swords of Iron” campaign.

The Israeli military on Tuesday night (AEDT) said it had found the bodies of more than 1500 Hamas fighters inside Israel, bringing the overall death toll to more than 3100, and claimed to have the Gaza border secured against Hamas.

“We have gained full control over the border fence in the Gaza Strip. In the last day, not a single terrorist entered the fence,” an Israel Defence Forces spokesman said on Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed an Israeli response to the terrorist invasion of his country that would “echo down through generations”.

“Hamas terrorists bound, burned and executed children. They are savages. Hamas is ISIS,” Mr Netanyahu said, likening the group to the extremist Islamic State network.

The threat of the war expanding throughout the region also ­increased, after a deputy commander of the Israeli 300th Brigade, Alim Abdallah, was killed in clash with militants who had crossed the Lebanese border.

As Israeli forces mobilised for the coming offensive, sources in Australia’s Jewish community said a number of Australians may be among the more than 900 people killed in the weekend attack on Israel.

Foreign Affairs officials refused to confirm any deaths, but said Australians were still missing in ­Israel following the attack.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said there were about 10,000 Australians in Israel, but declined to comment on individual cases.

Hamas fighters dragged off an estimated 150 hostages in the surprise attack on Saturday, including women, children, the elderly and senior army officers.

The terrorist group said it would start executing the prisoners if Israeli jets continued to pound targets in Gaza without warning, as they had done since the invasion. “From this hour, any targeting of our people in the safety of their homes, without warning, will be met with the execution of civilian hostages, which will be broadcast with video and audio,” said Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Uba­ida.

Israel Defence Forces spokesman Richard Hecht said the threat would not achieve the group’s aims. “If they harm one of these grandmothers or one of these babies or one of these children, it will not make things better, and they know it,” Lieutenant Colonel Hecht said.

“No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it’s all closed.”

A soldier rests against an artillery gun barrel of an armoured vehicle as Israeli troops take positions near the border with Gaza. Picture: AFP

The Israeli military revealed it had secured the Gaza perimeter and planted landmines where the militants toppled the border wall.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply distressed” by the announcement. He warned that Gaza’s humanitarian situation would “only deteriorate exponentially”.

Fireballs lit up Gaza City on Monday night as Israeli jets struck hundreds of sites, including mosques and a marketplace.

Hamas said four hostages died in the strikes, along with one of their captors. Gaza residents reported receiving audio messages from Israeli security officers telling them to leave areas in the north and east of the city.

Authorities there said at least 687 Palestinians had been killed in the conflict, and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees said it was sheltering more than 137,000 displaced people in schools across Gaza.

“The situation is unbearable,” said the UN agency’s spokeswoman Amal al-Sarsawi.

As families began to bury their dead across Israel, the Herald Sun reported Carbone – the first identified Australian victim – might have been “dragged around” by militants before her death.

Carbone was reportedly only a road away from where her children and grandchildren were hiding in a safe house before IDF soldiers rescued them from roaming Hamas militants

Tensions have soared across the Middle East since the weekend attack, amid signs of Iranian involvement that could spark a wider regional conflict.

US deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said there was not yet direct evidence linking the attack to Iran, but the US believed it was “broadly complicit” in the Hamas operation.

As its supporters across the Arab world rejoiced at the violence, Hamas called on “resistance fighters” in the West Bank and in Islamic nations to join its “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”.

“The military operation is still continuing,” a Hamas official said from Doha, declaring “there is currently no chance for negotiation on the issue of prisoners or anything else”.

In 2011, militants in Gaza ­released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit after more than five years in captivity. He was freed in a swap for 1027 Palestinians, including a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

Prisoner exchange appears an unlikely option for Israel now, as it would give Hamas a propaganda victory that very few Israelis would accept. Retired Israeli brigadier general Ariel Heimann said: “We care about our hostages, and this time they are citizens – women and children. But now is the time to fight against Hamas, and all Israelis are behind it.

“It’s a lose-lose situation, whatever is decided.”

A plume of smoke rises in the sky of Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on Monday. Picture: AFP

As Israeli forces prepare to invade Gaza to rescue hostages and wipe out Hamas, the country is on high alert for an attack by Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists across its northern border with Lebanon. On Monday, the Israeli army said its soldiers had “killed a number of armed suspects” who had crossed the northern border, and that Israeli helicopters were striking targets in the area.

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad later claimed responsibility for the thwarted infiltration from Lebanon to Israel.

Washington, which moved its biggest aircraft carrier into the eastern Mediterranean to deter attacks by Hezbollah, said it had no plans to put US troops on the ground but would supply its ally with munitions.

Israel has asked the US for more guided missiles for its fighter jets and more missiles for its Iron Dome air defence system.

Additional reporting: AFP, The Times