A Palestinian takes a selfie in front of a burning Israeli tank on the Gaza border. Photo: REUTERS
Hamas on Saturday launched its biggest attack on Israel in years, with rocket attacks on Israeli cities and even infiltrating the south of the country and seizing a police station.
Air raid sirens sounded across the country, including Jerusalem, on Saturday morning after Hamas military leader Mohamed al-Deid announced a military operation in which about 5,000 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.
The Israeli ambulance service confirmed one death and 16 injuries. In southern Israel, one woman was killed in a rocket attack on a residential building.
In an Israeli town near the border with the Gaza Strip, masked gunmen were filmed shooting around.
Emergency crews battle a fire caused by rockets in Ashkelon, Israel Photo: REUTERS
In Gaza, unusual scenes were reported: part of a fence depicting Israel was destroyed and a group of men crowded around an Israeli tank before setting it on fire.
A group of militants drove through Gaza City. Israeli military vehicle to the applause of the crowd. A group of elderly women posed for cameras waving an Israeli assault rifle believed to have been captured in Saturday's attack.
Explosions from Israel's Iron Dome intercepting Hamas rockets were heard over Jerusalem on Saturday morning, as streaks were visible in the sky from shells.
Hames reported that 5,000 rockets were fired at Israel from Palestinian territory. Photo: REUTERS
A spokesman for the municipality of Sderot in southern Israel told Haaretz that gunfire could be heard in the streets and that residents were locking themselves in their homes.
A police spokesman confirmed on Saturday that an unknown number of militants entered a police station in Sderot and a shootout took place there.
Haaretz also cited a police source confirming that Hamas militants had entered the Israeli town of Netivot. and Ofakim and held civilians hostage in Ofakim.
Palestinians rejoice at reports of militants infiltrating southern Israel Photo: REUTERS < p >Yaov Gallant, Israel's defense minister, on Saturday morning declared a state of emergency in an 80-kilometer radius around the Gaza Strip, which has been controlled by Hamas militants since 1997.
Beaches in central Israel are closed. after the IDF reported that an unknown number of Hamas fighters attempted to infiltrate by land and also attempted to cross the border by paragliding.
There were unconfirmed reports that several people were taken hostage, including soldiers , as soldiers were reportedly forcibly taken hostage. broke through a gate used by the Israeli army near the border with the Gaza Strip.
The IDF responded with a flurry of attacks on Gaza.
Smoke rises over the horizon in Ashkelon Photo: REUTERS
At least two dead and many more injured, according to local health authorities Although rocket attacks on Israel are not unusual, Saturday's attack was the biggest militant incursion into Israeli territory in years, with armed militants reported on the streets of at least a dozen towns and villages in the south. and the residents barricaded themselves.
A resident of Kibbutz Beeri called Israeli Channel 12 on Saturday morning and reported that there were militants on the streets of her city.
“I hear shooting,” Dvir Efrat said on the channel. on live television, saying he did not want to raise his voice for fear of militants outside.
The Hamas attack on Israel, the largest since at least 2021, when some 4,500 people were sent towards Israel, comes at the end of the Jewish the holiday of Sukkot, when many people are usually on vacation.
The Hamas military leader called for the «Al-Aqsa Flood» attack, suggesting their goal was to seize Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy site for Muslims, from the Israeli state. The Temple Mount is also a holy site for Jews.
Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement that they launched the attack «in defense of al-Aqsa Mosque.»
The attack follows a growing number of security incidents in the region. Just last week, the Israeli army attacked three Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip in response to attacks on the crossing between the enclave and Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister vowed to retaliate for the attacks.
“Hamas this morning made a big mistake (when he) started a war against the State of Israel,” Mr. Gallant said in a video message.
“The IDF forces are fighting the enemy in every place. The State of Israel will win this war.”
Siham Shamalach from Gaza City contributed to this report.
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