Fighters from the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" swept into Israeli towns on Saturday, killing at least 300 Israelis and capturing dozens of civilians and soldiers in the deadliest day Israel has seen since the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago. In response to Hamas's attack, Israel conducted strikes that killed more than 230 Gaza residents in one of the most destructive days of retaliatory strikes. Fighting continued late into the night.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, "We will retaliate harshly for what happened on this evil day." He added, "Hamas has launched a brutal and wicked war. We will win this war, but the price is so high that it cannot be borne... Hamas wants to kill us all. This is an enemy that kills mothers and children in their homes and in their beds. An enemy that kidnaps the elderly, children, and teenage girls."
Hamas fighters entering Israel in an unprecedented attack was noted as Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniya stated that the attack began in Gaza and would extend to the West Bank and Jerusalem. Haniya highlighted the threats facing Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the ongoing blockade of Gaza, and Israeli normalization with countries in the region. He asked, "How many times have we warned you that our Palestinian people have lived for 75 years in refugee camps, and you do not recognize our people's rights?" He continued, "This morning marks the dawn of our people's dignity and the dawn of defeat, humiliation, and collapse for our enemy and its settlements and soldiers." He added, "This battle reveals the preparations and readiness, as well as exposes the fragility of this enemy."
The Israeli military stated that senior officers among the military were among the fatalities in the fighting near Gaza on Saturday. By 1:30 AM local time (2330 GMT), Israeli forces were still engaging with Hamas fighters in some parts of southern Israel. In a social media briefing, an Israeli army spokesperson stated that the situation in the country was not under complete control.
The Israeli Prime Minister's office stated that the security cabinet approved measures to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad "for many years," including cutting electricity, fuel supplies, and goods entering Gaza.
In Gaza, black smoke and orange flames billowed into the sky from a high-rise building struck by an Israeli airstrike. Crowds of mourners filled the streets carrying the bodies of militants killed, wrapped in green Hamas flags. The dead and injured in Gaza were transported to dilapidated and overcrowded hospitals facing severe shortages of supplies and medical equipment. The Health Ministry reported that the death toll reached 232, with at least 1,700 injured. The streets were empty except for ambulances rushing to the strike sites. Israel cut off electricity, plunging the city into darkness.
Biden Offers Assistance to Netanyahu
Western countries, led by the United States, condemned the Palestinian attack and pledged support for Israel. In the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden appeared on television stating that Israel has the right to defend itself and issued a clear warning to Iran and other anti-Israel countries. He said, "This is not the time for any other hostile party to Israel to exploit these attacks for gain. The world is watching." A senior Biden administration official told reporters that the United States is working with other governments to ensure the crisis is contained.
Washington is trying to broker an agreement that would normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which Israelis see as the biggest prize in their decades-long quest for Arab recognition. Palestinians fear that any such agreement would obliterate their future dreams of an independent state. Pro-Hamas protests erupted throughout the Middle East where U.S. and Israeli flags were burned, and participants waved Palestinian flags in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. Iran and Hezbollah praised Hamas's attack.
Residents in southern Israel were not informed until Saturday evening that operations had ended so they could leave the shelters where they had been hiding from militants since early morning. Danny Rahamim told Reuters via phone from a shelter where he is still hiding in Nahal Oz near the Gaza fence, "It’s not over because the army hasn’t said the town is safe." The gunfire subsided, but blasts could still be heard.
Hamas claimed to have launched a barrage of 150 rockets toward Tel Aviv on Saturday evening in retaliation for the Israeli airstrike that destroyed the high-rise containing more than 100 apartments. Salah al-Arouri, Hamas's deputy political bureau chief, told Al Jazeera that the group is holding a large number of Israelis, including senior officials. He added that Hamas has enough hostages to compel Israel to release all Palestinians in its prisons.
Hamas attributed the assault to what it claimed was an escalation of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as on Palestinians in Israeli prisons. The commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Muhammad Deif, announced the operation in a broadcast via Hamas-affiliated media, calling for Palestinians everywhere to fight. He declared, "Today is the day of the great battle to end the last occupation on earth," referring to launching five thousand rockets.
Hamas leader Osama Hamdan told "Warda" that Hamas leadership determines the timing and goals for this operation. Since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas has fought four wars against Israel. However, the images of violence within Israel itself differ completely from anything seen since the suicide bombings during the Palestinian uprising two decades ago. With the nature of the attack being stunning for Israeli security forces, this represents one of the worst intelligence failures in the country's history, as it also shocks a state that prides itself on penetrating and monitoring militant groups.
In Gaza, residents rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of a conflict that could last days. Some evacuated their homes and headed to shelters. Dozens of Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded in clashes at the border with Israel, where fighters took control of a border crossing and tore through the fence. Among the dead were civilians from the crowds attempting to cross into Israel through damaged gates. Palestinian woman Amal Abu Daqa told Reuters, "We are scared," as she left her home in Khan Younis.
Israel: Hamas Declares War and Commits a "Grave Mistake"
The outbreak of events occurs against a backdrop of escalating violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the West Bank, which, along with Gaza, constitutes part of the territories Palestinians have long sought for their state. Clashes erupted in several locations in the West Bank, where youth confronted occupying forces with stones. Four Palestinians were killed, including a 13-year-old boy. Palestinian factions called for a general strike on Sunday. The escalation also comes amid political unrest in Israel, which is experiencing deep divisions regarding judicial authority amendments.