Israel declares ‘state of war’ as Hamas gunmen cross border in surprise assault
Israel has declared a ‘state of war’ as Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack, firing thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip and sending dozens of gunmen across the border.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant accused Hamas of starting a war against Israel on Saturday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an emergency meeting of security officials and warning sirens wailed across southern and central Israel.
“Hamas has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the state of Israel. IDF troops are fighting against the enemy at every location,” said Mr Gallant.
He added: “I call on all of Israel’s citizens to follow security instructions. The state of Israel will win this war.”
In the most serious escalation in hostilities between Hamas and Israel since 2021, dozens of gunmen are reported to have infiltrated towns in southern Israel.
Some arrived in jeeps, some by boats and some are even reported to have crossed the border using paragliders.
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.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said its fighters had joined Hamas in the Israel attack.
Emergency services have reported the death of one Israeli woman, as ambulance crews were deployed to areas around the Gaza Strip.
Gunbattles between bands of Palestinian fighters and Israeli security forces are reported to be raging in towns across southern Israel. Israeli media said gunmen had opened fire on passersby in the town of Sderot, in southern Israel, and footage circulating on social media appeared to show clashes in city streets as well as fighters in jeeps roaming the countryside.
“A number of terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip,” Israel’s military said in a statement, adding that residents in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip had been told to stay in their homes.
“We were told there are terrorists inside the kibbutz, we can hear gunfire,” a woman called Dvir, from Beeri Kibbutz, told Israeli Army Radio from her bomb shelter.
Mirjam Reijnen, a 42-year-old volunteer firefighter in Nahal Oz, said she and her three children have been too scared to leave the shelter even for a moment to use the bathroom.
She said: “With rockets we somehow feel safer, knowing that we have the Iron Dome (missile defence system) and our safe rooms.
“But knowing that terrorists are walking around communities is a different kind of fear.”
Palestinian media said a number of Israelis had been taken captive by fighters and Hamas media circulated video footage apparently showing a destroyed Israeli tank.
Video from Gaza, posted on social media, appeared to show the lifeless body of an Israeli soldier being trampled by an angry crowd of Palestinians while other footage revealed Palestinian militants dragging away an Israeli soldier on a motorcycle and Palestinian men dancing on top of an Israeli tank set ablaze.
However, the authenticity of the videos has not been verified.
A security source said the Israeli military was aware of reports of captives but provided no details.
Palestinians in Gaza have expressed disbelief at the infiltration into Israel. “It is like a dream. I still can’t believe it, fighters inside our occupied land?” said one Gaza shopkeeper.
Salah Arouri, an exiled Hamas leader, said the operation was a response “to the crimes of the occupation”.
There have been weeks of heightened tensions along Israel’s border with Gaza and heavy fighting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
But the attack has come during the major Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, catching Israel off-guard and reviving memories of the 1973 war in which Israel’s enemies launched a surprise assault on Yom Kippur.
