ISRAEL’S military has surrounded the Gaza Strip – but its plans to launch a “coordinated” attack have reportedly been delayed due to bad weather.

The move comes amid fears that Hamas is deliberately blocking terrified residents from escaping the bomb-blitzed enclave.

Israel is readying itself to invade Gaza soon with tens of thousands of soldiers and troops massing on the border ahead of what the military has described will be a “coordinated attack” by land, air and sea.

Israeli army spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said forces are now “in formation… all around the Gaza Strip, in the south, in the centre and the north.”

However, senior IDF officials have now announced their plans have been delayed.

The ground invasion should have begun already but continues to be postponed due to bad weather preventing aerial cover, sources told The New York Times,

The officials also shared unclassified battle plans that included capturing Gaza City, wiping out the entirety of Hamas leadership and conducting a possible 18-month campaign to root out any remaining terrorists.

Over 360,000 reservists have been called up to bolster Israel’s 130,000-strong regular army that is preparing to crush Hamas’s strongholds.

Late on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops on the Gaza border preparing for the attack.

He asked: “Are you ready for the next stage? More is coming!”

Meanwhile, the IDF has accused Hamas of “stopping civilians trying to flee” by ordering civilians “not to evacuate”.

IDF spokesman, Jonathan Conricus, said Hamas intended to use them as “human shields”.

“If that isn’t the most sinister and vile use of civilians during war, I don’t know what is,” he added.

Since Friday, there have been reports that Hamas dismissed Israel’s countdown to flee as “fake propaganda” and had been ordering civilians to stay put.

Israeli air strikes continued to hammer the Gaza Strip last night after the deadline passed for citizens to get out ahead of Israel’s impending ground invasion.

The IDF, however, warned Palestinians still in northern Gaza that they would not target the route to safety between 10am – 1pm (7am – 10am GMT).

At least 2,329 Palestinians have been killed during the retaliatory bombardment of densely-populated Gaza, including 600 children.

On Friday, Israel warned 1.1 million people living in the north of the Gaza Strip to flee their homes ahead of an “imminent attack”.

Tens of thousands of people have fled south, according to the UN, who estimate a million Palestinians are now displaced by Israel’s bombardment.

Panicked families travelling in trucks, donkey carts and on-foot have been streaming down roads attempting to get to safety.

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It comes as…

For days on end, Israel has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes in revenge for Hamas’s unprecedented cross-border attack, resulting in the slaughter of over 1,300 Israelis.

The UN has warned that Gaza is descending into a “hellhole” and is on the “brink of collapse”.

The Palestinian health authority said that at least 300 people have been killed in the enclave in the last 24 hours, adding that most of them were women and children.

A convoy of over 70 evacuees was blown up yesterday allegedly in an air strike, with 12 children killed in the explosion, BBC reports.

The IDF has since claimed that a Hamas booby trap was responsible.

Meanwhile, the UN says that over 1,300 buildings have been destroyed in Gaza, which has been under a total siege all week.

Israel halted all deliveries of food, water, fuel and medicine to the tiny enclave on Monday in response to Hamas’s weekend attack.

On Wednesday, Gaza’s only power station ran out of fuel and shut down – leaving only lights powered by scattered private generators.

And now the UN states that the enclave has run out of clean drinking water, making the situation a “matter of life or death”.

Harrowing photos showed blooded babies and children crammed into hospital wards as medics struggled with demand.

Over the last 24 hours, a million residents of Gaza’s north have attempted to flee to safety under both heavy bombardment and an Israeli blockade.

“No safe corridors were initially provided for people to safely comply with the orders to move southwards. Hundreds of people, including families, had to flee on foot,” the UN said.

The full electricity blackout has brought essential health, water and sanitation services “to the brink of collapse”, and exacerbated food insecurity, it said.

Podcast: Israel’s War on Terror Explained

The Sun has launched a brilliant new podcast ‘Israel’s War on Terror Explained’.

In the first episode, we talk to the Israel Defense Force about tactics in their Hamas offensive and the fraught mission to rescue hostages.

To listen, click here if you’re on mobile – or simply scan the QR code with your phone if you’re reading on a computer.