The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday in a surprise multi-pronged assault that saw armed fighters crossing into several Israeli towns by air, land and sea while thousands of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip.
Dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified Israel-Gaza border, fighting gunbattles inside several Israeli communities, and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday.
At least 22 Israelis have been killed in the attack so far with more than 250 wounded, Israel's ambulance service said, adding that the toll was expected to rise.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was at "war" with Hamas and vowed to retaliate.
"We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war," the Israeli leader said in a statement, adding Hamas had launched a "murderous surprise attack" on Israel and its people.
"I have ordered an extensive mobilisation of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price," he said.
The Israeli military struck targets in Gaza in response to Hamas firing more than 2,000 rockets that sent air raid sirens wailing constantly as far north as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
It said its forces were engaged in gunfights with Hamas militants who had infiltrated Israel in at least seven locations. The fighters had sneaked across the separation fence and even invaded Israel by air with paragliders, the army said.
It was not immediately clear what prompted Hamas to launch its attack, which came after weeks of simmering tensions along the Gaza frontier. The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, announced the start of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm".
“Enough is enough,” he said in the recorded message, as he called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight. “Today the people are regaining their revolution."
Israeli broadcaster Reshet 13 TV News said militants were holding Israelis hostage in the town of Ofakim, and that five Palestinian militants had been killed in the town of Sderot and homes had been set on fire.
Israeli media reported gunbattles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in towns in southern Israel. Israel’s police chief said there were “21 active scenes” in southern Israel, indicating the extent of the attack.
In Gaza, people rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of conflict ahead. Some evacuated their homes and headed for shelters.
The attack marks one of the most serious escalations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AFP, AP)
