DThe Israeli Air Force attacked further targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night following the surprising major attacks by Palestinian militants. Hundreds of people have been killed on both sides so far. The aim is to destroy the military and governmental capacities of the Islamist 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 the office of Israel’s head of government Benjamin Netanyahu announced after a security cabinet meeting early Sunday morning. The import of electricity, fuel and goods into the Gaza Strip was stopped.
“We are beginning a long and difficult war, forced upon us by a murderous attack by Hamas,” Netanyahu said after a security cabinet meeting. “We will turn all the places where Hamas is organized and hides into islands of rubble,” he said in a speech earlier.
He called on the residents of the Gaza Strip to “flee from there now, because we will act everywhere and with all our strength.” Israel will take revenge. “This war will take time,” said the Israeli prime minister. “There are still challenging days ahead.”
Unknown number of soldiers and civilians abducted
Supported by a hail of thousands of rockets, Hamas fighters from the blockaded Gaza Strip entered nearby Israeli towns on Saturday. They killed several people and kidnapped an unknown number of soldiers and civilians, including, according to the media, children, into the Gaza Strip. The federal government is checking whether German citizens are affected.
Several Israeli cities, including the coastal metropolis Tel Aviv, were the target of heavy rocket attacks. Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad told the BBC that the group had received direct support for the attack from Iran. Iran has committed itself to “supporting the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.” Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, USA and Israel.
According to media reports, at least 300 people have died in Israel so far. Around 1,590 people were injured. The attacks came as a complete surprise to Israel on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah). The Israeli military then began counterstrikes in the Gaza Strip. On the Palestinian side, at least 232 people were killed and almost 1,700 injured, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported. Israeli forces also killed several suspected Hamas members at a police station in the town of Sderot, which borders the Gaza Strip.
According to media reports, Israeli soldiers were also able to free hostages who were being held in a house in Ofakim on the border with the Gaza Strip. They stormed the building and killed ten terrorists, reported the news website Ynet and the broadcaster i24NEWS. Three Israeli soldiers were injured.
The first phase now ends with the “destruction of the majority of the enemy forces that have invaded our territory,” it said after the Israeli Security Cabinet meeting. At the same time, an offensive phase was initiated, which will continue until the goals are achieved. “We will restore the security of the citizens of Israel and we will win,” it said.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of a major escalation in the region. “This day is a turning point, an unprecedented act of escalation by Hamas,” said the Green Party politician on Saturday in Berlin. “As a result of these terrorist attacks, there is now an incalculable risk of a major regional escalation.” The Foreign Minister said she could only “warn in the strongest possible terms that others join in this terror.”
Violence also in the West Bank
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 Benjamin 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.