Hamas launches its largest attack by land, air and sea from Gaza and Israel declares a state of war
50 years and 15 hours after the Egyptian and Syrian surprise attack against Israel that began the Yom Kippur War, the armed wing of the Islamist group Hamas has launched the largest offensive by land, sea (infiltration of dozens of its members in Israeli towns ) and air (launching thousands of projectiles against large areas including central Tel Aviv and Jerusalem) since taking control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. As on October 6, 1973, Israel has been monumentally surprised by an attack that has led its Army to raise its state of alert this Saturday to that of preparation for war.. The number of victims and hostages in Israel suggests that Hamas' “unprecedented” operation will be responded to by an “unprecedented” retaliation operation.
At the moment, health authorities have confirmed that at least 200 Israelis have died and more than 900 have been injured due to the impact of Palestinian projectiles and especially the attack by militants who entered Israel.
The head of the Shaar Negev regional council, Ofir Lipstein, was shot dead by the attackers. The fundamentalist group, which justifies its attack in the “defense of the Al Aqsa Mosque”, affirms that it managed to kill and kidnap dozens of Israelis (military and civilian) in a simultaneous armed action that has the support of the second most important group in Gaza, Islamic Jihad. In Israel, they admit that there are Israelis – dead and alive – in the hands of armed groups in Gaza.
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has released a video showing three men dressed as civilians, visibly frightened, captured by its fighters. “Scenes of the al Qassam Brigades capturing several enemy soldiers in the 'Al Aqsa Flood' battle,” indicated a phrase that appeared on a black background at the beginning of the video.. As confirmed by the Israeli Army, Hamas has not only kidnapped civilians but also several soldiers.
“There are numerous terrorists here! I have never seen anything like this. Where are our soldiers?” a resident of the city of Sderot told us on the phone with fear and anger, who, like other Israeli towns bordering the Palestinian enclave, has had a violent awakening. Shots and projectiles from Gaza militias have broken the calm of Shabbat and the last day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Rockets launched from Gaza towards Israel. AFP
“Hamas made a serious mistake this morning and launched a war against Israel. Troops are fighting the enemy at any location. The State of Israel will win this war,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Before promising that “Hamas will pay a very high price for its terrorist attack”, announcing airstrikes against targets of the Palestinian group that began mid-morning and ordering a broad mobilization of reservists, the Israeli Army sent numerous troops to Sderot and several agricultural towns. in the face of the infiltration of dozens of militiamen into its streets and also to prevent kidnappings of citizens and soldiers, alive or dead.
According to Gaza health sources, 232 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded either in fighting in Israel in the offensive that Hamas launched under the name “Al Aqsa Storm” or in retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza in a wide operation that the Israeli Army has dubbed “Iron Swords”. Israel has also ordered the state electricity company to cut supplies to the Gaza Strip.
More than ten hours after its penetration, armed clashes continued in some Israeli towns, with testimonies from residents calling television stations to ask for help in a low voice due to the presence of hooded men near their homes and some cases of kidnappings.
“The terrorist group Hamas will pay dearly for its cowardly attack,” military sources told EL MUNDO while unprecedented images of Israeli military jeeps driven by Hamas on the streets of Gaza were released.
The anti-terrorist unit of the Israeli Police has mobilized in response to the seizure of several buildings in southern Israel by armed Palestinians from Gaza. “At the moment, we have about 20 hot spots of activity (in reference to infiltrations),” said Police Chief Inspector Kobi Shabtai.
Palestinians ride an Israeli military jeep
“We had already warned the enemy, who cursed the prophet in the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa mosque. We have decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation. The time for not being accountable is over,” declared the head of Hamas's armed wing, Mohamed Deif, announcing that his group launched 5,000 projectiles in the first hours.. Likewise, he asked to expand the fronts against Israel in clear reference to a possible intervention by other groups from Lebanon and Syria.. All of them, also supported with weapons and financing by Iran.
In an appeal to Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel, Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Obeida said: “Today is your chance. You must now go to all the places where the occupation is. “The enemy is collapsed.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an emergency meeting at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv this afternoon in response to a long-planned attack by Hamas.. Its execution now almost inevitably leads the parties not to further escalation but to war.. “We are in a war. This is not just another offensive.. Hamas launched a bloody surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens,” Netanyahu declared before adding: “I ordered a broad mobilization of reservists and counterattack with a strength and reach that the enemy has never known.”
Criticism in Israel is directed towards the Army for not having known how to prevent or at least contain the lethal penetration of dozens of militiamen from Gaza, largely with vans, and towards the Government due to the greatest crisis in the history of Israel as a result. of the judicial reform proposal. The unprecedented division in Israel has not only hit its society, including the Army with protests including reservists, but also its deterrence capacity against Iran, Hamas or the Lebanese group Hezbollah.. In a statement, this Shiite group sent “congratulations for the heroic action (of Hamas). “This operation is a decisive response to the ongoing crimes of the occupation and the ongoing damage to the Holy Sites.”
The head of the opposition and former Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, has offered his bitter rival Netanyahu the formation of a “professional emergency government”. “The State of Israel is at war. It will not be an easy or short war. It has strategic implications that we have not seen in many years. “There is a great risk that it will turn into a war in multiple scenarios,” he said after meeting with Netanyahu.
Hamas Israel attack October 2023