Israel launched major airstrikes against Gaza in a rapid reaction to surprise attacks by Islamist militants Saturday that left more than 200 Israelis dead and 1,100 injured in the worst violence on the country in half a century.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war after a series of thousands of rocket attacks on Israel and vowed that Hamas, the rulers of Gaza, “will pay a price it has never known.”
Hamas said it launched more than 5,000 rockets at Israelis in the attack that it called “Operation Al-Aqsa Deluge”–retribution for an April Israeli police raid on the Al Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Islam..
But many observers questioned that explanation, pointing to the enthusiastic support of Iran for the attacks, and questioning whether the pending peace effort between Israel and Saudi Arabia was a target.
The Israeli military mobilized tens of thousands of reservists and said fighter jets were carrying out air strikes on Hamas sites in Gaza, and that it has already hit 17 Hamas military compounds in the retaliation it was calling “Operation Swords of Zion.”
Palestinian officials reported 232 people were killed in the attacks, and another 1,697 were wounded. The Palestinian Health Ministry did not say if the casualties included militants or only civilians in Gaza.
As the violence raged into the night, Israel Defense Forces confirmed reports that dozens of Israelis were taken hostage and brought to the Gaza Strip, but would not specify how many, the Times of Israel reported. Reports in Arabic media indicated 52 people had been captured, the outlet said.
Israelis try to extinguish fire after a Hamas rocket attack in Ashkelon in southern Israel. The country was hit in a series of surprise rocket attacks by Hamas militants in Gaza on Saturday. AFP via Getty ImagesEnough hostages, which included Israeli soldiers and elderly women being transported to Gaza in golf carts as well as young women bloodied from the attacks, were captured in a bid 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 on,” according to the outlet, which spoke to Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau.
The attack on Israel was timed to a major celebratory Jewish holiday, Simchat Torah (“joy of Torah”), and came on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 War during which Arab states bombed the country on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.
Israeli soldiers mobilize in the rapidly escalating conflict with Hamas after the Islamist militant group launched a series of rocket attacks against the country Saturday. APHamas fighters crossed the perimeter fence between Israel and Gaza just 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 swoop into Israel during the early morning raid. Others arrived on boats and on foot, while Hamas rockets pounded the country, according to reports.
Video footage showed scenes of Israelis slaughtered in their homes and cars in the southern part of the country, and many being led away by Hamas fighters.
Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas terrorist group, released video of the killing and capturing of Israeli soldiers as Hamas forces seized control of an Israeli military base in the border community of Erez, according to reports.
Hamas rockets are fired at Israel in a surprise attack early Saturday. APA screaming Israeli woman was seen being abducted by Hamas militants who restrained her on a motorcycle, according to a video uploaded to X, formerly Twitter.
The veracity of the footage could not immediately be confirmed.
As rockets slammed into Israel, an all-night party in an area close to the Gaza Strip was thrown into chaos, as hundreds of attendees tried to flee — and gunshots were quickly unleashed into the crowd, the Times of Israel reported.
It’s not clear 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.
Israeli air defenses try to intercept rockets coming from Gaza Saturday after Hamas unleashed a shock attack against the country. APLeaders around the world condemned the brutal Hamas attacks, but also called for calm and restraint as the violence between the two countries escalated.
President Joe Biden spoke to Netanyahu Saturday, offering “all appropriate means of support.”
Israel-Hamas war: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.
2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years, in an early-morning ambush Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of militants into Israeli towns.
Terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis, wounded more than 4,200, and took at least 200 hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to announce, “We are at war,” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
The Gaza Health Ministry — which is controlled by Hamas — reported at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured since the war began.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan has been in touch with his Israeli counterpart, a senior Biden administration official told CNN. Officials at the National Security Council at all levels are reaching out to their counterparts as well, 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 afternoon, the president said the U.S. will “not ever fail” to have Israel’s back.
Hamas militants celebrate the capture of an Israeli tank Saturday as the conflict intensified between the Islamist militants and Israel Saturday. AP“Israel has the right to defend itself and its’ people, full stop,” Biden said. “My administration’s support for Israel is rock solid and unwavering.”
“It’s also a terrible tragedy on a human level,” he added. “It’s heartbreaking. Jill and I are praying for those families impacted by this violence.”
Mayor Eric Adams — who is currently in South America — condemned the attack and said security would be beefed up in the Big Apple.
“New York City has the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel, and we stand side by side with Israel every day — but we do so with extra resolve today in light of Hamas’ unprovoked terrorist attacks directed at the country and its people,” the mayor said. “Today’s attack, coming at the end of what is supposed to be a celebratory time at the end of the Jewish High Holy days, is nothing more than a cowardly action by a terrorist organization seeking to undo that peace and divide us into factions. That won’t 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 for further developments,” said NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Public Information in a statement to The Post Saturday. “At this time there is no known threat nor nexus to New York City.”
Additional reporting by Tina Moore
