Netanyahu said they were at war after Hamas attacks
Israel Defense Forces v.s. Gaza Strip Activists: The Attack on the Aqsa Mosque and the Military Wing of Hamas
The Aqsa mosque, a holy site in Jerusalem that thousands of Jews have visited in recent weeks, is defended by the military wing of Hamas.
The ambulance service, Magen David Adom, issued an urgent call for blood and was organizing a special blood donation drive at a hospital in central Tel Aviv.
At least seven Israeli communities and army bases were attacked by Palestinians this morning according to the Israeli military spokesman. He said militants had reached the city of Sderot; the small towns of Kfar Azza, Nahal Oz, Magen, Beeri; the military bases of Reim and Zikim, which are close to towns of the same name; and the militarized border checkpoint at Erez. Fighting was ongoing at or near the at least three of those places, he said.
More than 3,000 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Air raid sirens and loud booms were heard in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and across central and southern Israel.
Israel was hit at one of the worst moments in its history by this assault. It followed months of profound anxiety about the cohesion of Israeli society and the readiness of its military, a crisis set off by the far-right government’s efforts to reduce the power of the judiciary.
Muhammad Deif, the leader of the military wing of Hamas, the Islamic militant organization that controls Gaza, said in a recorded message that the group had decided to launch an “operation” so that “the enemy will understand that the time of their rampaging without accountability has ended.”
Israel will triumph: the Palestinians will have the right to defend themselves and their people,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli President Biden on Saturday afternoon
Israel’s Health Ministry said there were at least 759 wounded Israelis in the country. The Soroka Medical Center had admitted more than 80 people and some were in very difficult condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman. An urgent call for blood was issued by the ambulance service.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said operations were underway to clear the militants from infiltrated towns and that he had issued a call-up of reservists.
The Israeli military reported on Saturday that at least 2,200 rockets were fired from the Gaza strip at Israel and that at least one militant crossed the border fence into Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu spoke with President Biden by phone on Saturday afternoon, his office said, telling Mr. Biden that “a forceful and continued battle will be required, in which Israel will triumph.” In his own statement, Mr. Biden said that “the United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel” and that “Israel has a right to defend itself and its people.”
Unverified video footage, circulated by Hamas, the Iran-backed militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, appeared to show some Palestinian gunmen arriving in Israel in a sort of makeshift hang glider.
Residents of Israeli border towns told broadcasters that gunmen were moving door to door, looking for civilians. Unverified footage appeared to show Palestinian fighters transporting captured Israeli civilians and bodies through the strip — to be bargained, analysts said, for Palestinian prisoners.
There were dead bodies strewn on the streets in Sderot. The militants also targeted an all-night dance festival in the desert, prompting hundreds of young Israelis to sprint for safety.
The Israeli-West Bank Interaction in the First Day of the Gaza War: Israel’s Security Forces, the Defense Forces and the Security of the West Bank
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel was at war and would win it.
The potential role of Iran in the operation drew scrutiny in Israel as the violence spread to other parts of the region. Tehran provides all of the militant groups, including Hamas, with weaponry and intelligence.
The Hamas leaders called for the Arabs in Israel and the West Bank to carry out their own attacks on Israelis. Three Palestinians died in clashes on Saturday with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, according to Palestinian officials.
The UN said they were increasing their activities on the Israel-Lebanon border after a skirmish with Israeli troops on the border on Saturday.
The government critics who had left reserve duty because of the judicial plan to return to service in Israel after the shock of the attack said they would go back to work. Yair Lapid, the centrist leader of the opposition, announced he was prepared to join a government of national unity — a move that would potentially postpone any further judicial changes and allow Mr. Netanyahu to end his alliance with the far right.
Israel is trying to seal a landmark peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, which it has never recognized as a Jewish state out of solidarity with the Palestinians. It wasn’t clear how the effort would be affected. The Saudi government issued a statement of concern about the situation and called for a cessation of hostilities.
The ease with which the Palestinians entered Israel made Israelis angry. There were questions about the quality of Israeli intelligence gathering and whether the Israeli military was focused too much on the West Bank.
It isn’t easy for 2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip to leave Hamas-linked areas. For more than 16 years, the Gaza Strip has been under a blockade by Israel and Egypt that restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of the country.
In recent months, Israel had been allowing up to 18,000 workers to cross daily from Gaza into Israel, helping Gaza’s economy and adding to a general sense that calm would prevail.
Hamas’s rocket arsenal was considered to be its primary weapon because the Israeli Army had secured the land border with walls and other fortifications, making a ground invasion difficult.
The streets of Gaza City were emptied out as residents gathered at schools to take shelter. Lines also formed at supermarkets, as people stocked up on supplies. And Gazans living close to the Israeli border fled to areas further inside the enclave, fearing an Israeli ground invasion.
“We can’t take it anymore,” said Jamila Al-Zanin, 39, a mother of three who was one of the people who fled with their families. The situation is very bad.
Hamas in the Gaza Strip: Israel’s response to the Gaza War and the “new chapter” in the field of resistance and armed operations
Analysts expected the Gaza war could set off a surge in violence in the West Bank, which has already experienced its bloodiest year since the second intifada, a Palestinian uprising that left 1,000 Israelis and around 3,000 Palestinians dead by the time it ended in 2005.
The spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanani, said that “today’s operation opened a new chapter in the field of resistance and armed operations against the occupiers in the occupied territories.”
Reporting was made up of Raja Abdulrahim from Istanbul, Jonathan Rose and Iyad Abuheweila from Cairo, Aaron Boxerman from London and Hwaida Saad from Lebanon.
The Israeli military said Sunday that it is still battling Hamas militants in several Israeli communities a day after they broke through and flew over the Gaza border to launch an unprecedented wave of attacks.
In the north of the Israel, there have been strikes exchanged across the border with Lebanon, raising alarm at heightening regional tensions. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the mortar fire that hit Israel in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s involvement opens up the possibility of a multi front conflict involving Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.
Anyone in areas where Hamas operates in the Gaza Strip should “leave those places now,” Netanyahu said. Israel will take care of the issue with anyone who harms them.
Israel and the United States: Implications of the Egypt-Israeli War on Security and Security in the Near-Infra-Red Sea
There are fears that the brutality could spread. An Egyptian policeman opened fire on Israeli tourists Sunday in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing at least two Israelis and one Egyptian, local media reported.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan spoke with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. A statement from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said that the Kingdom rejects the targeting of civilians.
What additional support, if any, is uncertain, U.S. officials tell NPR. The United States provides billions of dollars each year in assistance to Israel and helped the country build its Iron Dome missile defense system.
High-level U.S. officials are in communication with counterparts in Israel and regional allies, from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin — who said the Pentagon will continue to consult with Israel to make sure it has the support it needs.
