“Hamas has never acted so brazenly before”: rocket attack took Israel by surprise

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We are at war and we will win.” Israel is retaliating against Hamas’ surprise and largest attack in years by striking targets in Gaza, Sky News reports.

At least 22 people have been killed and hundreds more wounded after thousands of rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip in a surprise attack by the Hamas militant group.

Large columns of black smoke could be seen rising from a number of Israeli cities on Saturday morning.

“This is what Shabbat turned out to be today,” journalist Alexander Rosenzaft, who is in Beer Sheva, comments to MK over the phone from Israel. – At 6:30 in the morning this whole story began somewhere. All this was completely unusual; at first they thought it was a mistake, that the system had accidentally worked. But then the air defense started working – and it became clear that it was not a mistake.

In our house there is a bomb shelter, common to the entire entrance, located in the basement. But most residents prefer to take shelter in the stairwells during an alarm – many do not want to go down, especially since stairwells are considered protected premises. Only people living on the very floors must necessarily go down to the shelter. Families with small children also come down – it’s calmer there.

Today the alarm sounded almost non-stop. I don’t think there has been such activity since the Lebanon War. I don’t even remember anything similar in intensity. Sirens sound constantly. “Iron Dome was working and we heard a lot of explosions today.”

According to our Israeli interlocutor, there is not enough information yet: “There is no complete picture.”

“But the first thing that came to my mind,” says Alexander, “is that what is happening is very similar to the operations that Ukrainian militants are conducting against the border regions of Russia. Hamas received an example of actions modeled on the Ukrainians. Hamas has never acted so brazenly before to enter populated areas and attack military units. It seems that they have seen enough and adopted the experience of Bandera bandits. It seems that the terrorist attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, say, in the Belgorod region, have backfired here in Israel.”

According to our interlocutor, the Hamas attack was most likely specially prepared and provocations were organized. At the end of September, almost everyone attempted an attack or a breakthrough on the border, but the militants did not actually cross the border. As a result, the security forces’ eyes became blurred.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister said Hamas had “started a war” and Israeli troops were “fighting the enemy in every place.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring the country at war, vowed: “Our enemy will pay a price he never knew.”

In response to the incursion, the Israeli air force confirmed that dozens of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fighter jets struck a number of Hamas military installations and operational command centers in the Gaza Strip.

For his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves from “settler terror and military occupation.”

According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, 545 Israelis were injured. This, combined with the death toll so far, makes it the deadliest attack on Israeli soil in recent years.

Images on social media showed burning cars and damaged buildings. Phone footage also showed Hamas militants attempting to reach Israel in small boats and, in a highly unusual move, several militants appeared to cross the border on paragliders, reaching the town of Sderot, where gunfire was heard.

Air raid sirens sounded across southern and central Israel, and explosions occurred in the cities of Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Yavne and Kfar Aviv.

A 70-year-old woman was seriously injured when a rocket hit a building in southern Israel, the rescue agency said.

The Israel Defense Forces warned that “the Hamas terrorist group will pay a very heavy price,” saying it was launching a “large-scale operation” called “Iron Swords” in response to a combined rocket and infantry attack.

The Israeli military said “several terrorists had infiltrated Israeli territory” and residents along the border were ordered to stay home.

“The military declares a state of combat readiness,” the statement said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas “made a serious mistake this morning and started a war against the state of Israel.”

He added: “IDF troops are fighting the enemy in every place. I call on all Israeli citizens to follow the safety instructions. The State of Israel will win this war.”

Several reports suggested that Hamas was kidnapping IDF soldiers, and videos circulated on social media that appeared to show captured soldiers being transported on trucks. An IDF spokesman declined to comment on these statements when asked about them.

As you know, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting of his security cabinet.

An Israeli military spokesman said Hamas fired 2,500 rockets in Saturday’s attack, while the group’s military commander, Mohammad Deif, said 5,000 rockets were fired.

“This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,” Mohammed Deif said on Hamas radio. He said the attack was the start of “Operation Storm Al-Aqsa” and is a response to Israeli violence in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem.

“Today the people are rebuilding their revolution,” the Hamas militant leader said in a recorded message. “We must set the ground on fire under the feet of the occupiers.”

The attacks came after weeks of heightened tension along Israel’s volatile border with Gaza and heavy fighting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Sky News noted.