'We are at war,' Israeli PM says after Hamas launches surprise attack
CBC
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday in a surprise assault that combined gunmen crossing into several Israeli towns with a heavy barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
As warning sirens wailed across southern and central Israel, including in Jerusalem, Israel's military said it was on a war footing and the defence minister said the Iran-backed Hamas had made a "grave mistake" by declaring war on Israel.
"We are at war," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address, declaring a mass mobilization of the country's army reserves. "Not an 'operation,' not a 'round,' but at war."
The Israeli military said it had launched airstrikes into Gaza, where witnesses reported hearing heavy explosions.
At least 40 Israelis were killed in the incursion and about 740 others were wounded, Israel's N12 News reported.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported injuries among "many citizens" without giving numbers.
The attack marked an unprecedented infiltration by an unknown number of Hamas gunmen into Israel from Gaza, and one of the most serious escalations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. Israeli media reported gun battles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in towns in southern Israel.
In Gaza, people rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of conflict ahead. Some evacuated their homes and headed for shelters.
Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
"This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth," he said, adding that 5,000 rockets had been launched.
The last major flareup between Israel and Hamas was a 10-day war in 2021.
Speaking to Israel N12 News by phone from a Nir Oz, a kibbutz near Gaza, a woman identified as Dorin said militants had infiltrated her house and tried to open the bomb shelter where she was hiding.
"They just came in again, please send help," she said. "There are a lot of homes harmed ... My husband is holding the door closed ... They are firing rounds of bullets."
Israeli Defence Minister Gallant said Hamas had "launched a war against the State of Israel." Israeli "troops are fighting against the enemy at every location," he said.
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