Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country ‘is at war’ following an unprecedented attack by the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip. The attack was carried out at daybreak Saturday, as militants fired thousands of rockets and dozens of fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea.
Several hours after the invasion began, Hamas militants were still fighting gun battles inside several Israeli communities in a surprising show of strength that shook the country, AP reports.
Israel’s national rescue service said at least 22 people have been killed and hundreds wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in years. Videos released by Hamas appeared to show at least three Israelis captured alive.
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‘We are at war’
“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address, declaring a mass army mobilization. “Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”
“The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he added, promising that Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”
The leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, announced the start of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.” The Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam and is located on the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.
“Enough is enough,” Deif, said in the recorded message as he called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight. “Today, the people are regaining their revolution.”
In a televised address, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hamas had made “a grave mistake” and promised that “the state of Israel will win this war.”
Western support for Israel
Western nations condemned the incursion and reiterated their support for Israel. Saudi Arabia, which has been in talks with the U.S. about normalizing relations with Israel, released a statement calling on both sides to exercise restraint.
The attack caught Israel off guard exactly fifty years to the day of the start of the Yom Kippur War, previously the deadliest invasion in Israeli history. Analysts are calling this latest incursion a “stunning” intelligence failure.
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