The violent conflict that broke out between Israel and Palestine after a Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday with a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip has left hundreds of people dead and thousands injured.
The number of people killed in Israel since the Hamas militant attack began early had risen to at least 250, with 1,452, according to Israeli media report.
The health ministry said another 1,452 people have been taken to hospital, with 18 in a critical condition and another 267 described as severe.
Similarly, Palestinian health officials said 232 people have died in Gaza and another 1,790 are wounded, after Israel’s retaliation to early morning attack by Hamas.
Also, dozens of Israelis had been reportedly captured by Palestinian militants in an unprecedented assault into Israeli territory.
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.
Report said this is one of the most serious escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years.
Israel Defense Forces said the country will use ‘heavy ground means’ against militants.
“Our goals are that all the terrorists will be killed, that all the communities will be rid of terrorists,” the IDF statement continues.
It also warned people living in Israel near the Gaza Strip to stay sheltering inside until then.
The statement continues that the IDF is carrying out air strikes in Gaza and will later continue with “heavy ground means”
The Palestinian health ministry had earlier said, 198 people were killed in Israeli strikes and another 1,610 have been wounded.
Israel’s health ministry has given updated numbers of the victims of Hamas’s attack with death toll reported to be about 100 and the number of people taken to hospital at 985.
Residents had 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”.
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”.
“The United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza,” statement by US President Joe Biden on his phone call with Israeli PM Netanyahu said.
“Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation. My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering,” Biden added in the statement.
However, Iran has backed the Palestinian attack, saying it congratulated the fighters for launching the biggest attack on Israel in years, according to an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
“We congratulate the Palestinian fighters,” it quoted Yahya Rahim Safavi as saying. “We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.”
Qatar’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying that Israel alone was responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinian people.
It said Qatar called on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and asked the international community to prevent Israel from using these events as an excuse to launch a disproportionate war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The statement called on the international community and international parties to “intervene immediately to stop the ongoing escalation and resort to the rules of international law”.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed deep concern over the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Islamic Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas in the early hours of Saturday.
The violent conflict that broke out
after Hamas attacked Israel with a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip has left hundreds of people dead and thousands injured
The Nigerian Federal Government in a statement signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar called for de-escalation and ceasefire between the waring countries.
Tuggar said, the cycle of violence and retaliation that the current escalation has assumed, only serves to perpetuate an unending cycle of pain and suffering for the civilian population, that bears the brunt of every conflict.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria, therefore, calls on both sides to exercise restraint, prioritize the safety of civilians and give room for humanitarian considerations.
“We are therefore calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue,” he said in the statement.
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