Hamas fighters have launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from air, land and sea, firing thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip early Saturday and killing at least 40 people.
“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. “Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”
“The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he added, saying Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”
The attack caught Israel off-guard coming on Simchat Torah, a religious holiday and 50 years to the day since the 1973 Mideast war.
Smoke is seen in the Rehovot area as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip.
ILAN ROSENBERG
Hamas fired over 2,000 rockets toward Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, and claimed to have captured several Israeli soldiers. One resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz told the country’s Channel 12 television station that militants were trying to break into their homes.
Israel’s health ministry said at least 779 wounded have arrived in hospitals so far, while Palestinian media is reporting the death toll in Gaza is four.
Hamas, which rules Gaza, said it was behind the operation it dubbed “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
“Enough is enough,” Mohammed Deif, the leader of the group’s military wing, said in a recorded message.
“If you have a gun, get it out. This is the time to use it—get out with trucks, cars, axes. Today the best and most honorable history starts,” he said, according to CNN.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned in a televised address that Hamas had made “a grave mistake” and promised that “the state of Israel will win this war.”
The Israel Defense Forces have released video of what it says are retaliatory airstrikes on Hamas in Gaza.
“Since this morning, the State of Israel has been at war,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of a political-security cabinet meeting. “Our first goal is first of all to cleanse the area of the enemy forces that have infiltrated and restore security and peace to the towns that were attacked. The second goal, at the same time, is to exact a huge price from the enemy, also in the Gaza Strip. The third goal is to fortify other arenas so that no one makes the mistake of joining this war. We are at war, in war you have to keep calm. I call on all citizens of Israel to unite, to achieve our highest goal—victory in the war.”
People react near a fire after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel.
AMIR COHEN
U.S. White House National Security Council spokesperson, Adrienne Watson said Washington condemns the attack. “The U.S. unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians. There is never any justification for terrorism. We stand firmly with the Government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks,” she said.
The attack comes amid surging violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the West Bank, which is part of the territories where Palestinians have long tried to establish a state.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah congratulated Palestinian fighters for the attack, saying the operation was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalization with Israel.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
