New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country is “at war” after Palestinian militant movement Hamas launched an unprecedented aerial and ground attack against Israel, from its controlled territory in the Gaza Strip, Saturday.
The infiltration into cities in southern Israel by Hamas gunmen was preceded by a barrage of rockets fired towards Israel from the Gaza Strip. Hamas was quoted by Palestinian media as claiming that it launched “5,000 missiles and shells” against Israel.
This marked the biggest offensive of its kind against Israel since Hamas took control of the 41-km Gaza Strip in 2007.
Describing it as a “surprise infiltration”, a report from Israeli news outlet Haaretz said members of Hamas’s military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades took over parts of the southern Israeli towns of Netivot and Ofakim, taking hostages in the process.
Mohammed Deif, head of the al-Qassam Brigades, announced the militant group’s operation in a rare public statement, Saturday.
“We announce the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and we announce that the first strike, which targeted enemy positions, airports, and military fortifications, exceeded 5,000 missiles and shells,” he said in a message. “We’ve decided to say enough is enough.”
In response, Israel launched a large-scale counter-offensive — ‘Swords of Iron’ — with reports suggesting Israeli Air Force fighter jets targetted multiple locations linked to the Palestinian militant outfit. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had earlier declared a “state of readiness for war” and blocked all roads near the border, according to The Times of Israel.
Israelis across the country—on Shabbat and the holiday of Simchat Torah—woke up to sirens sounding and Hamas firing rockets at them from Gaza this morning.
We will defend ourselves. pic.twitter.com/S9GN8fld4Y
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 7, 2023
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared an emergency within a range of 80 km of the Gaza Strip, including in the cities of Tel Aviv and Beersheba, reported The Times of Israel. In a video message later in the day, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the country is “at war”.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war — not in an operation, not in rounds — at war,” he said.
Israel and Palestine have been involved in four wars and several smaller clashes since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007. The latest attack comes during one of the most violent periods in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank in the past two decades.
The assault by Hamas also comes against the backdrop of ongoing talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia on normalisation of ties.
Last month, Saudi Arabia’s first official envoy to Palestine and ambassador to Jordan, Nayef al-Sudairi, drove into the West Bank via the Karama crossing for a two-day visit.
Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman is expected to visit Saudi Arabia next week for the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week Conference (MENACW 2023) — the third Israeli minister to make such a trip after Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Tourism Minister Haim Katz.
How the latest attack will impact the growing ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel remains to be seen.
Military bases stormed, Israelis taken hostage
The IDF had said in a statement earlier Saturday that a “number of terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip”. It added that IDF “will defend Israeli civilians and the Hamas terrorist organization will pay heavy price for its actions”.
Soon after, warning sirens sounded across Gaza and central and southern Israel, with residents living near the border area urged to remain indoors, The Guardian reported.
Hamas gunmen had stormed 21 military bases where they were believed to be holding some Israelis hostage, reported The Palestine Chronicle. Videos circulating on social media indicated that Israeli soldiers were among those taken hostage taken by Hamas gunmen.
ThePrint could not independently verify these videos.
Another report by the Israel Broadcasting Authority — the country’s public broadcaster — said Hamas gunmen had also captured a police station in Sderot.
Abd al-Aziz Nassara, mayor of Kuseife — a town located roughly 65 kilometers from the Gaza Strip — told local broadcasters that at least four died in the town and several more were wounded as a result of the rocket attacks, according to The Times of Israel.
Haaretz, meanwhile, put the number of those wounded above 120.
The Indian embassy in Israel, meanwhile, issued an advisory for all Indian nationals there to “remain vigilant and follow safety protocols”.
The United States became the first to condemn the attack, with Stephanie Hallett, the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, writing in a post on X that she was “sickened by images coming out of southern Israel”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Also Read: What is Hamas, how it rose to power & its role in Israel-Palestine conflict