After Hamas’ major attacks on Israel, the number of deaths continues to rise. There are also fights and rocket attacks at night. Prime Minister Netanyahu announced retaliation and called on Gazans to leave the city.
After the surprising major attack on Israel, the radical Islamic terrorist organization Hamas continued shelling its arch-enemy in the Gaza Strip during the night. There were heavy rocket attacks during the night against several cities, including the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said the situation in the country is not yet fully under control. In return, more Hamas command centers were bombed.
According to media reports, at least 300 people have died in Israel so far. Around 1,590 people were injured. On the Palestinian side in the Gaza Strip, at least 232 people were killed and almost 1,700 injured, as the local Ministry of Health announced.
Netanyahu announces retaliation
In response to the attacks, Israel decided to carry out devastating strikes against the radical Islamic Hamas. The aim is to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad “so that they are no longer able and willing to threaten and attack the citizens of Israel for many years,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office at an early morning security cabinet meeting. Among other things, it was decided to cut off the import of electricity, fuel and goods into the Gaza Strip.
“We are beginning a long and difficult war, forced upon us by a murderous attack by Hamas,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying. The first phase now ends with the “destruction of the majority of the enemy forces that have invaded our territory,” it said after the Security Council meeting. At the same time, an offensive phase was initiated, which will continue without restrictions until the goals are achieved. “We will restore the security of the citizens of Israel and we will win,” it said.
Military speaks of “serious hostage-taking situation”
According to the military, the terrorist organization Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, fired more than 3,000 rockets at Israel during the day on Saturday. At the same time, armed Palestinians advanced into Israel by land, sea and air that morning.
Meanwhile, according to Israeli media reports, hostages held in a house in Ofakim on the border with the Gaza Strip were freed by Israeli soldiers. They stormed the building after hours of negotiations and killed ten terrorists, reported the news website Ynet and the broadcaster i24NEWS. Three Israeli soldiers were injured.
The military had previously reported abductions of Israelis. A military spokesman spoke of a “significant number,” but Israel did not provide precise information. There is a “serious hostage-taking situation in Beeri and also in Ofakim,” said army spokesman Hecht. The two places are near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, USA and Israel, spoke of dozens of abductees.
Federal Government: “Location is confusing”
Meanwhile, the federal government is checking whether German citizens are affected. The Foreign Office said on Saturday evening that they were in close contact with the Israeli authorities. The situation is confusing. Unconfirmed reports circulated on social networks that a German citizen was among those kidnapped.
The Israeli Navy identified seven terrorists in the Zikim Beach area of Israeli territory in the past few hours, the military said. Marines and aircraft prevented the terrorists from entering residential areas. Warplanes attacked three Hamas operational command centers that the terrorist organization uses to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Conversations about Emergency government
Meanwhile, violence continues in the West Bank. Six Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed in clashes with the Israeli army in several places on Saturday, the Health Ministry in Ramallah said. According to Palestinian reports, another man was shot dead by Israeli soldiers after an attempted knife attack.
Meanwhile, in the background in Israel in the evening were talks about the formation of an emergency government. Prime Minister Netanyahu has offered the two opposition leaders Jair Lapid and Benny Gantz to join an emergency government, a spokesman for Netanyahu’s Likud party said. Lapid had previously signaled his willingness to do so. However, according to media reports, a meeting between Lapid and Gantz was said to have failed to reach an agreement.
Hamas was able to cross barriers
In the morning, armed terrorists from Gaza entered Israeli towns such as the 30,000-inhabitant city of Sderot. It is unclear how the militants were able to penetrate Israel despite strict border controls. Army spokesman Richard Hecht said that, among other things, gliders were used.
Israel has built a massive fence along the border with Gaza to prevent infiltration. It also runs deep underground and is equipped with cameras, high-tech sensors and sensitive listening technology.
“We are at war”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message from military headquarters in Tel Aviv: “Citizens of Israel, we are at war.” The country was officially put on war alert. This enables the army, for example, to mobilize reservists, which Defense Minister Joav Galant has already approved.
The attack came on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, the last in a series of festivals, and appears to have caught Israel by surprise, reminiscent of the start of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when Egypt and Syria initially caught Israel by surprise.
Always clashes
The situation in the Palestinian territories, especially in the occupied West Bank, had recently become more dire again. Four Palestinians have been killed there since Thursday in their own attacks or in confrontations with the Israeli army.
There have been several violent protests at the Gaza border in the past month. Explosive devices were also thrown at soldiers and several Palestinians were injured by gunfire. The Israeli Air Force repeatedly attacked Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip in response to the incidents.
According to the UN, more than two million people live in very poor conditions in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, USA and Israel, violently seized sole power in 2007. Israel then tightened a blockade of the coastal area, which Egypt supported.