Israel declares state of war
Bethan McKernan
In response to the attacks, which appear to have caught the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) by surprise, Israel has declared a state of war.
“A number of terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement, adding that residents in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip had been told to stay in their homes.
“The Israel Defence Forces will defend Israeli civilians and the Hamas terrorist organisation will pay heavy price for its actions,” it said.
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Bethan McKernan
Hamas’ health ministry says there is one dead in Israeli strikes thus far.
Israel’s police is estimating that there are 60 militants inside the country at the moment, Haaretz reports. Fighting is ongoing.
On Israel’s public radio, reporters and guests are expressing a sense of shock at the events of the past hours. There are already questions raised: How could this happen? How could Israel’s security establishment fail to see the attack coming?
The radio is broadcasting interviews with relatives of young Israelis who appear to be trapped in areas under Hamas control at the moment.
Israel launches emergency blood drive as number of wounded rises
Magen David Adom is calling for urgent blood donations at the following locations:
Tel Aviv – Ichilov Hospital
Jerusalem – MDA Station (7 Hamem Gimel St.)
Haifa – 10 Yitzhak Sadeh St. pic.twitter.com/NkpZ5aFNaE
— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) October 7, 2023 EU condemns Hamas attack on IsraelThe European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has expressed solidarity with Israel.
We follow with anguish the news coming from #Israel. We unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas.
This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing.
The EU expresses its solidarity with Israel in these difficult moments.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 7, 2023
Bethan McKernan
Saturday’s dramatic developments are the most serious flare-up in the volatile region since Israel and Hamas fought a bloody 10-day battle in 2021.
Shaike Shaked, 70, from Netiv Hahasara, said: “We are locked in the security room and don’t know what is happening outside. We can hear explosions … We are nervous and alert. It is clear that this will ead to a war in Gaza.”
Since the Islamist group seized control of the 42-sq km (16-sq mile) strip in 2007, there have been four wars and several smaller conflagrations against the area’s rulers and its other active factions that have exacted a devastating toll on Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
People in Gaza also have next to no freedom of movement, and healthcare, electricity, sanitation and other crucial infrastructure have all but collapsed since Israel imposed the blockade.
Inside Gaza on Saturday morning, civilians reported significant movement of armed factions, as people braced for what is likely to be a major new escalation.
Mona Awda, a 31-year-old from Gaza City, said: “I was helping my children to go to school, all of a sudden explosions happened. My children were freaked out. I told them to stay at home and not go to school … We are surprised and worried about what’s next, wondering when and how long this will last.”
IDF fighter jets striking Hamas targets in Gaza
Bethan McKernan
Dozens of IDF fighter jets are currently striking a number of targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said.
More details to follow.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, has announced that the Hamas militant group has started a war against Israel and pledged that “Israel will win”, the Associated Press is reporting.
Following a security cabinet meeting at the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Gallant warned that Hamas “made a grave mistake” in launching rockets into southern and central Israel.
Hamas gunmen have crossed the border fence at several places and infiltrated Israeli communities in one of the most serious escalations in years between Israel and the militant group that rules Gaza.
“The state of Israel will win this war,” Gallant said.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister: “Hamas has made a big mistake this morning,” Reuters is reporting.
💥Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has declared a state of emergency in a radius of 80 kilometers from the Gaza border. pic.twitter.com/WA9UYb0BCY
— Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي💙 (@NTarnopolsky) October 7, 2023 Rocket fire continues to strike Israel from Gaza.
Today’s attack comes shortly after medics in the Gaza Strip reported treating an influx of protesters who appeared to have been deliberately targeted in the ankle by Israeli forces in recent unrest at the volatile boundary of the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
At least one person had been killed and dozens more wounded since demonstrations by groups of young men, some of them throwing stones and molotov cocktails, began in mid-September, Bethan McKernan and Hazem Balousha have reported.
Netanyahu to meet top security officialsIsraeli media have reported that gunmen opened fire on passers-by in the town of Sderot, in southern Israel, and footage circulating on social media appeared to show clashes in city streets as well as gunmen in jeeps roaming the countryside.
Palestinian media reported that a number of Israelis had been taken captive by fighters and Hamas media circulated video footage apparently showing a destroyed Israeli tank, Reuters also reported.
In addition to Benjamin Netanyahu’s office saying the prime minister would meet top security officials in the coming hours, the defence minister, Yoav Gallant, authorised the call-up of reservists.
Bethan McKernan
Today is the last day of the Jewish high holidays, but Israelis all over the south of the country and as far north as the contested city of Jerusalem were woken early this morning by air raid sirens and the thud of missiles.
Hamas officials always say that they will respond to Israel “at a time and place of our choosing”. But the timing of this unprecedented aerial and ground attack has caught both Israelis and Palestinians completely by surprise. The two sides had just negotiated a truce, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the UN, after three weeks of violence and unrest at the separation fence.
Israeli media is reporting that Hamas operatives have seized control of a police station in the border town of Sderot, and is holding several people hostage. Initial reports suggest that the Israeli police and army were slow to respond to the attack, and gunfights are ongoing in several places. Major roads across the south are closed, and checkpoints in and out of the occupied West Bank shut.
In the tiny Gaza Strip, a population already battered by four wars in the last 16 years is bracing for further escalation.
Israel’s military has declared it will defend the country.
The Israeli Defence Forces said in a post on X, formerly Twitter:
Israelis across the country – on Shabbat and the holiday of Simchat Torah – woke up to sirens sounding and Hamas firing rockets at them from Gaza this morning.
We will defend ourselves.
Israelis across the country—on Shabbat and the holiday of Simchat Torah—woke up to sirens sounding and Hamas firing rockets at them from Gaza this morning.
We will defend ourselves. pic.twitter.com/S9GN8fld4Y
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 7, 2023Israel declares state of war
Bethan McKernan
In response to the attacks, which appear to have caught the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) by surprise, Israel has declared a state of war.
“A number of terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement, adding that residents in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip had been told to stay in their homes.
“The Israel Defence Forces will defend Israeli civilians and the Hamas terrorist organisation will pay heavy price for its actions,” it said.
Here are images from Israel and Gaza this morning showing rockets being fired from Gaza and the resulting damage:
Rockets from Gaza. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesA rocket is launched from the coastal Gaza Strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of Hamas movement. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPARockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip. Photograph: Fatima Shbair/APBurnt out vehicles in Ashkelon are pictured following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty ImagesIsrael on war footing, says militaryIsrael’s military said it was on a war footing as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called an emergency meeting of security officials, Reuters reports.
Israeli media was reporting gun battles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in towns in southern Israel.
Hamas launched the surprise assault with a combination of gunmen crossing the border and a heavy barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip.
It is the most serious incident since Israel and Hamas fought a 10-day war in 2021.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group says its fighters have joined Hamas in the attack on Israel, Reuters is reporting.
OpeningHello and welcome to our live coverage of the Palestinian group Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on Saturday.
Senior Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif said 5,000 rockets had been launched and he called on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
“This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on Earth,” he said.
What’s known so far is that Palestinian gunmen infiltrated areas of southern Israel and rocket barrages were launched from the Gaza Strip in the attack.
Sirens sounded across Israel, including in Jerusalem.
One Israeli woman was reported killed and ambulance crews were deployed in areas around the Gaza Strip.