Israel waking up in shock on Sunday after Hamas fighters killed hundreds of Israelis and abducted captives into Gaza, sparking a war that risked spreading as Israel struck a Hezbollah militia target in southern Lebanon.
Israeli air strikes in Gaza overnight resulted in the death of over 300 Palestinians and the destruction of buildings, tunnels, and the houses of Hamas officials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “mighty vengeance for this wicked day.”
Hamas gunmen continued to fight Israeli security forces in various locations in southern Israel, 24 hours after their incursion on Saturday. More rockets were fired from Gaza, triggering air raid sirens.
A military spokesman stated that Israel would severely attack Hamas and that it would be a long-term operation. Jets resumed strikes on Gaza in the morning, and troops conducted clearing operations in the blockaded enclave.
In response to mortar fire from Lebanon, Israeli artillery retaliated, and drone strikes targeted a post of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia along Israel’s northern border. Israel’s army spokesperson urged Hezbollah not to get involved.
The surprise Hamas attack was the largest incursion into Israel since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago. It posed a threat to U.S-backed efforts to broker a normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, potentially impacting Palestinian aspirations for statehood and Iran’s support for Hamas.
Hamas fighters initiated their attack at dawn on Saturday.A massive barrage of rockets was launched into southern Israel, allowing for an unprecedented infiltration of fighters from Gaza into Israel. Gaza, a narrow strip with a population of 2.3 million Palestinians, became the base for this operation. During the clashes that occurred on Saturday and Sunday, gunmen killed at least 250 Israelis and managed to escape back into Gaza with several hostages. In response, Israel carried out retaliatory strikes, resulting in the deaths of over 300 Gazans. The Israeli military continued its operations in eight areas around Gaza on Sunday, causing further casualties. Palestinian health officials reported that among the 313 civilians killed, 20 were children, and nearly 2,000 people were wounded. Additionally, Hezbollah launched a rocket and artillery attack on three posts in the Shebaa Farms, which Israel has occupied since 1967. Israel responded with artillery fire on southern Lebanon, but no casualties were reported. This escalation of violence is occurring amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The West Bank has witnessed increased Israeli raids, Palestinian street attacks, and assaults by Jewish settlers on Palestinian villages. The situation for Palestinians has worsened under the hard-right government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the prospects for peace have remained stagnant. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh warned that the assault in Gaza would spread to the West Bank and Jerusalem, as Gazans have been living under an Israeli blockade for 16 years. Haniyeh emphasized the threats to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, the continuation of the blockade on Gaza, and Israel’s normalization with regional countries. He questioned why the rights of the Palestinian people, who have been living in refugee camps for 75 years, are not recognized. The aftermath of the assault on Saturday left the streets of Sderot in southern Israel near Gaza filled with the bodies of Israeli civilians surrounded by broken glass.Terrified Israelis trapped in safe rooms shared their harrowing experiences on live television. Among the casualties in the fighting near Gaza were senior military officers, according to the Israeli military. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office announced that his security cabinet had approved measures to dismantle the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including cutting off electricity, fuel supplies, and the entry of goods into Gaza. Explosions filled the sky in Gaza, accompanied by black smoke, orange flashes, and the sound of Israeli drones overhead.
Biden expressed support for Netanyahu, with Western countries, led by the United States, condemning the attack. President Biden addressed the nation from the White House, affirming Israel’s right to self-defense and issuing a stern warning to Iran and other countries not to exploit the situation. The United States has been working towards normalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a development that Palestinians fear could jeopardize their aspirations for an independent state. Hamas leader Osama Hamdan emphasized that Arab states should realize that accepting Israeli security demands would not lead to peace.
Demonstrations in support of Hamas erupted across the Middle East, with protesters burning Israeli and U.S. flags and waving Palestinian flags in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. Iran and its Lebanese allies, Hezbollah, praised the Hamas attack. Hamas justified the attack as a response to escalated Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Israeli prisons. The surprise nature of the attack caught Israel off guard, exposing a significant intelligence failure for a nation known for its extensive infiltration and monitoring of militants.
This article was reported by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, and Ammar Anwar in Sderot. Additional reporting was done by Henriette Chacar, Emily Rose, and Dan Williams in Jerusalem, and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah. The writing credits go to James Mackenzie, Angus McDowall, and Robert Birsel, with editing by Lisa Shumaker, William Mallard, and Alex Richardson. The article adheres to the Thomson RushHourDaily Trust Principles.The author of this article is a senior correspondent who has spent almost 25 years reporting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which has included covering multiple wars and the significant event of the first peace agreement between the two sides.
