In a surprising and unprecedented attack of significant magnitude, militants from Gaza infiltrated several Israeli towns and military camps early on Saturday, firing more than 2,000 rockets from Gaza towards central and southern Israel, resulting in multiple casualties, as reported by the Israeli military.
An Israeli emergency services official, who preferred to remain anonymous ahead of an official announcement, disclosed that at least 22 Israelis lost their lives.
In response to these attacks, the Israeli military declared a “state of war alert,” mobilized reservist soldiers, and announced strikes on Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in a video message from Israel’s military headquarters, declared, “We are at war.” At the same time, Hamas militant leader Mohammed Deif urged for a broader regional conflict, citing Israeli activities in the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as the motivating factor behind the attacks.
The offensive by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip commenced at 6:30 a.m. local time and involved various infiltration methods, including the use of paragliders, the Mediterranean Sea, and overland routes, according to Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht.
Fierce battles unfolded for hours between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen within at least five southern Israeli communities near Gaza, including the town of Sderot and kibbutz communities like Nahal Oz, Beeri, Magen, and Kfar Aza, as well as two Israeli military camps in the vicinity.
The situation escalated rapidly, with reports of the head of a southern Israeli regional council being fatally shot by Palestinian militants in Kfar Aza and one woman reportedly killed by rocket fire in southern Israel. There are also unverified reports of Israelis being taken hostage inside Gaza.
Gaza militants were reported to have entered Israel in trucks and engaged in firefights with civilians within Israeli communities. Witnesses described Palestinian militants roaming outside Israeli homes and opening fire at an outdoor nature festival, causing panic among Israelis who sought refuge in fields and bushes. Israeli police instructed residents of southern Israel to remain indoors.
Concurrently, Palestinian militants in Gaza launched heavy barrages of rockets towards Israel, resulting in air raid sirens and loud explosions being heard in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and throughout central and southern Israel.
Saturday’s events occurred during the Jewish Sabbath and the Simchat Torah holiday, and a day after the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem acknowledged casualties from these incidents and expressed condemnation of the Hamas attack while urging all parties to refrain from violence.
This violence follows weeks of tense confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli troops along the Gaza-Israel border, as well as deadly Israeli military operations and clashes with Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel and Gaza militants have engaged in multiple wars over the past decade and a half, while a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt on Gaza has persisted since Hamas seized control in 2007.
Recent reports suggested that Egyptian mediators were working to broker an agreement to prevent Gaza-Israel violence, stabilize the financial situation of Hamas government employees in Gaza, and increase the number of Palestinian laborers permitted to work in Israel. However, this latest escalation could jeopardize efforts to reach a U.S.-brokered diplomatic deal for formal relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
