EARLY Saturday morning, dozens from the Palestinian armed group Hamas crossed from Gaza into Israel in an unprecedented attack.
An announcement to start the operation was made by a senior Hamas military commander in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
Hamas launched more than 5,000 rockets into Israel
Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Islamist militant group, said that more than 5,000 rockets had been fired into Israel early on Saturday to launch what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”.
“We’ve decided to say enough is enough.”
“We announce the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and we announce that the first strike, which targeted enemy positions, airports, and military fortifications, exceeded 5,000 missiles and shells,” according to Mohammed Deif, Hamas Military Commander.
At the moment, the official website of the said armed group is inaccessible.
Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis are currently confined to their homes while Hamas patrols communities in southern Israel, allegedly trying to infiltrate homes and murder innocent Israeli families, according to the Israeli government.
Gruesome videos appearing to show Palestinian militants shooting civilians in Israel are being widely shared on social media. However, the Israeli government is strictly advising its citizens to refrain from distributing videos or photos from scenes of terror attacks.
At the moment, non-stop rocket sirens are sounding across Israel, including Jerusalem on the holiday of Simchat Torah and Shabbat— the Jewish day of rest.
Residents in the areas surrounding the Gaza Strip are asked to stay in their homes.
Netanyahu declares ‘state of war’ in Israel
Shortly after the unprecedented attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a state of war for the nation Israel.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war. This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours. I convened the heads of the security establishment and ordered, first of all, to clear out the communities that have been infiltrated by terrorists. This currently is being carried out. At the same time, I have ordered an extensive mobilization of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price. In the meantime, I call on the citizens of Israel to strictly adhere to the directives of the IDF and Home Front Command. We are at war and we will win it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is initiating a large-scale operation called ‘Operation Swords of Iron’ to defend Israeli civilians against the combined attack launched against Israel by Hamas this morning. This includes the mobilization of Israel’s reservists.
