Israel launched a massive airstrike on Gaza in swift response to a surprise attack by Islamist militants on Saturday that left more than 200 Israelis dead and 1,100 wounded in the country’s worst violence in half a century.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war after thousands of rocket attacks on Israel and vowed that Hamas, the ruler of Gaza, “will pay a price never known.”
Hamas said it launched more than 5,000 rockets at Israel in an attack it called “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” – retaliation for an April Israeli police raid on the Al Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, one of Islam’s holiest sites.
But many observers questioned that explanation, pointing to Iran’s enthusiastic support for the attack, and questioning whether pending peace efforts between Israel and Saudi Arabia were targeted.
Israel’s military mobilized tens of thousands of reservists and said fighter jets were carrying out airstrikes on Hamas sites in Gaza, and that it had already hit 17 Hamas military compounds in a retaliation called “Operation Sword of Zion.”
Palestinian officials reported 232 people were killed in the attack, and another 1,697 were wounded. The Palestinian Ministry of Health did not say whether the casualties included militants or just civilians in Gaza.
As the violence dragged into the night, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed reports that dozens of Israelis had been taken hostage and taken to the Gaza Strip, but would not specify the number, the Times of Israel reported. Reports in Arab media indicated 52 people had been arrested, the outlet said.
Israel tries to put out the fire after a Hamas rocket attack in Ashkelon in southern Israel. The country was attacked in a series of surprise rocket attacks by Hamas militants in Gaza on Saturday. AFP via Getty Images
Sufficient hostages, including Israeli soldiers and elderly women transported to Gaza in a golf cart as well as young women covered in blood from the attack, have been captured in an attempt to free Palestinian prisoners, a senior Hamas leader claimed to Al Jazeera.
“We managed to kill and capture many Israeli soldiers. The fighting is still going on,” according to the newspaper, which spoke to Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau.
The attack on Israel was timed on the day of the great Jewish festival, Simchat Torah (“joy of the Torah”), and occurred on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 War when Arab nations bombed the country on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.
Israel’s military is on the move in an escalating conflict with Hamas after the Islamic militant group launched a series of rocket attacks on the country Saturday.AP
Hamas fighters crossed the perimeter fence between Israel and Gaza shortly after dawn, and launched thousands of rockets, with some reaching as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the BBC reported.
Militants also used paragliders to attack Israel during early morning raids. Others arrived by boat and on foot, while Hamas rockets pounded the country, according to reports.
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Video footage shows scenes of Israelis being slaughtered in their homes and cars in the southern part of the country, and many being taken away by Hamas fighters.
The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas terror group, released a video of the killing and capture of Israeli soldiers as Hamas forces seized an Israeli military base in the border community of Erez, according to reports.
Hamas rockets were fired at Israel in a surprise attack early Saturday.AP
A screaming Israeli woman was seen kidnapped by Hamas militants who held him on a motorcycle, according to a video uploaded to X, formerly Twitter.
The authenticity of the footage could not be immediately confirmed.
As rockets hit Israel, an all-night party near the Gaza Strip was thrown into chaos, as hundreds of attendees tried to flee – and shots were quickly fired into the crowd, the Times of Israel reported.
It is unclear how the militant gunmen penetrated one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders.
Israeli leaders deployed 669 rescue planes Saturday to rescue those injured in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, according to reports.
Israel’s air defenses try to intercept rockets coming from Gaza Saturday after Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country.AP
Leaders around the world condemned the brutal Hamas attack, but also called for calm and restraint as violence between the two countries escalated.
President Joe Biden spoke to Netanyahu on Saturday, offering “all appropriate means of support.”
The worst attack on Israel in 50 years: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: The terrorist group Hamas wins Palestinian legislative elections.
2007: Hamas takes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launched a military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the city of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches its biggest attack on Israel in 50 years.
More than 200 Israelis have been killed and at least 1,500 injured with the death toll expected to rise after Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of militants into Israeli cities.
Hamas terrorists are seen taking women hostage and parading them through the streets in a gruesome video.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “We are at war” and promised Hamas would pay an “unprecedented price.”
Gaza health officials reported 300 Palestinians killed with more than 1,700 injured.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan has been in contact with his Israeli counterpart, a senior Biden administration official told CNN. Officials at the National Security Council at all levels are contacting their counterparts, the network reported.
Biden, who last spoke with Netanyahu during a meeting last month, has long supported Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorist attacks. In a speech Saturday evening, the president said the US “will never fail” to support Israel.
Hamas militants celebrated the capture of an Israeli tank on Saturday as the conflict intensified between Islamic militants and Israel Saturday.AP
“Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, period,” Biden said. “My administration’s support for Israel is strong and unwavering.”
“It is also a terrible tragedy at the human level,” he added. “Heartbreaking. Jill and I are praying for the families affected by this violence.”
Mayor Eric Adams – who is currently in South America – condemned the attack and said security would be stepped up in the Big Apple.
“New York City has the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel, and we stand with Israel every day — but we do so with added determination today in light of Hamas’ unprovoked terrorist attacks against the country and its people. ,” said the mayor. “Today’s attack, which comes at the end of what should be a celebration at the end of the Jewish High Holy Days, is nothing more than a cowardly act by a terrorist organization that wants to destroy the peace and divide us into factions. That’s not going to happen.”
The New York City Police Department said it was monitoring the situation in Israel.
“We are aware of the situation and continue to monitor further developments,” the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information said in a statement to The Post Saturday. “At this time there are no known threats or connections to New York City.”
Additional reporting by Tina Moore
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
