About 250 people have been killed in the Israeli airstrikes on Palestine after a Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas, earlier launched an attack against Israel, killing at least 300 people and injuring about 900 others.
The unprecedented dawn attacks were launched on Israel from land, air and sea.
Also, dozens of Israelis have been captured by the Palestinian militants as hostages and prisoners of war in an unprecedented assault into Israeli territory.
LEADERSHIP reports that Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Saturday morning with a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
Israel said the Iran-backed group had declared war as its Army confirmed fighting with militants in several Israeli towns and military bases near Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.
Netanyahu said Israel is at war, stressing that: “Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known. We are in a war and we will win it.
“This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the state of Israel and its citizens,” he said in a video address.
Consequently, Israel responded with a wave of airstrikes on targets in Gaza killing about 250 people, Palestinian officials said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is “at war” and vowed that Hamas and Gaza’s rulers, will “pay a price it has never known.”
“This morning Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the state of Israel and its citizens,” he said in a video address.
Report said this is one of the most serious escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years.
The attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas saw fighters cross the perimeter fence just after dawn. At the same time, barrages of rockets were launched from Gaza – some reaching as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
The Israeli military said dozens of fighter jets are carrying out air strikes on Hamas sites in Gaza, and it has hit 17 Hamas military compounds, adding that it has mobilised tens of thousands of reservists.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, 250 people have been killed in Israeli strikes and another 1,610 have been wounded.
There were also unconfirmed reports in the Palestinian media that a number of Israelis have been taken hostage by militants.
On its social media handles, Hamas released videos apparently showing Israelis captured by its fighters.
In some videos, which cannot be verified, civilians appear to have been taken as hostages to Gaza – an unprecedented development.
Israel’s Health ministry said about 740 Israelis have been wounded in the Hamas attacks.
Residents said they do not remember a situation like this for a long time, while streets in the capital Tel Aviv have been locked down and are empty.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement.
“I convened the heads of the security establishment and ordered – first of all – to clear out the communities that have been infiltrated by terrorists. This currently is being carried out.
“At the same time, I have ordered an extensive mobilisation of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known,” he added.
A senior Hamas military commander who announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, called on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
“This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on Earth,” Mohammed Deif said.
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, who is a political rival of Hamas however, defended the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops”.
Report said a major investigation has been launched as to how Israeli intelligence failed to see the well-coordinated Hamas attack coming, Israeli government officials have told the BBC.
Meanwhile, there is strong international condemnation to the Hamas attacks, with the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly saying the UK “unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians” and “the UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself”.
Also, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen described the attacks as “terrorism in its most despicable form”, while the United States said it “will work to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself”.
Iran has backed the Palestinian attack, saying it congratulated the fighters, while Qatar’s foreign ministry said Israel alone was responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence.
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