What to know as war between Israel and Hamas militants rages on for a fourth day

By ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military says it has regained effective control over its south and the border with the Gaza Strip four days after Hamas fighters stormed into the country and brought gunbattles to its streets for the first time in decades. The declaration on Tuesday came as the Israeli Defense Forces sought to make good on the government’s vow to hunt down the militants and to intensify an assault on densely populated Gaza. Hamas rules the Palestinian territory that is home to 2 million people. In Israel and beyond, the families of more than 150 people kidnapped by Hamas and other militant groups feared for the lives of their loved ones.