Jerusalem| October 08, 2023: An unprecedented attack by the terrorist group Hamas on Israel early Saturday morning has left 100 people dead, sparking a devastating escalation of violence in the region. The ruling party in the Gaza Strip, Hamas, has unleashed a barrage of rockets and infiltrated Israeli territory, triggering heavy clashes between Hamas and Israeli soldiers along the border.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has launched a counter-offensive, with Palestine claiming that 198 civilians have been killed. Israeli organizations have reported over 150 injuries from the Hamas attack on Israel, while the Palestinian health minister claims that 1,610 people have been injured in Israel’s counter-offensive against the Gaza Strip. The situation has escalated rapidly, with Israel conducting several airstrikes in Gaza since the initial attacks by Hamas.
The attack by Hamas, described by the Israel Defense Forces as “massive,” saw 2,500 rockets fired at Israel. Simultaneously, Hamas terrorists managed to infiltrate many parts of Israel by air and sea from the heavily fortified border. The Israeli army is engaged in combat with the infiltrators in seven different locations, and the Israeli navy has reported terrorist infiltrations by air and sea. According to an Israeli military spokesman, terrorists infiltrated seven Israeli settlements and military bases on Saturday, including the city of Sderot.
Israel’s national emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, reports that 40 civilians have been killed in the Hamas attack, with over 750 injured. Hospitals in southern Israel have admitted many of the injured, although the Israeli military has not yet released official casualty figures. Disturbing audio tapes circulating on Hamas social media accounts show the terrorists driving looted Israeli army vehicles, while a video circulating depicts the body of an Israeli soldier being dragged by angry Palestinians in Gaza.
The military leader of Hamas has called on all Palestinians to prepare for the fight against Israel, vowing to fight with unwavering determination. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address to the nation, declared that the country was at war, warning that they would exact a price that Hamas had never imagined. He emphasized that this was not just a military campaign but a full-blown war.
Critics have lashed out at Netanyahu and his government for failing to anticipate the Hamas attack, despite their previous aggressive actions against Gaza. Tensions had been escalating for weeks along the ever-volatile Israel-Gaza border, leading to this catastrophic turn of events. Hamas is believed to have initiated this offensive following intense clashes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hamas, on the other hand, has declared war against Israel, while Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is confident that Israel will emerge victorious in this conflict. The defense minister made this statement after a cabinet meeting at Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, asserting that Hamas had made a grave mistake by launching rocket attacks on southern and central Israel.
The leader of Hamas’s military branch, Mohammad Def, announced the commencement of a new military campaign against Israel called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” during which 5,000 rockets were fired at Israel on Saturday morning, as confirmed by Israeli organizations. This relentless assault has plunged the region into a deep and perilous crisis, leaving both sides in a state of uncertainty and fear.
