In one the biggest escalation in recent times, Israel on Saturday morning declared a “state of readiness for war”, amid a massive barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip and infiltration into its southern area, killing at least one person and injuring 16 others.
Islamic faction Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, claimed it had launched 5,000 rockets at Israel in an early morning barrage called, “Operation al-Aqsa Flood”.
Israel's Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant, following an operational situation assessment Saturday morning warned that “the Hamas [terrorist organisation] 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. I call on all of Israel’s citizens to follow security instructions", he added.
"The State of Israel will win this war”, he asserted.
In a statement, the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) said that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is holding an assessment and approving plans of action.
“The IDF declares a state of readiness for war. Hamas… which is behind this attack, will bear the results and responsibility for the events,” the statement from the Israeli army said.
Rescue and relief services, Magen David Adom, said that one person has been killed and another 16 are wounded in the rocket attacks on southern and central Israel this morning.
Casualties
A woman in her 60s was killed in a direct rocket hit in the southern Gderot area.
Another two people are said to be seriously wounded, six moderately and seven with minor injuries, the medics of the rescue services said.
IDF warned that “the Hamas terror group will pay a very heavy price” for its surprise attack this morning.
“Hamas carried out a combined operation that included firing rockets and a terrorist infiltration into the territory of the State of Israel,” the Israeli army said.
“The IDF will protect the residents of the State of Israel, the Hamas terror organisation will pay a very heavy price”, it added.
The Head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in a statement, said "We warned the enemy not to continue its aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque”, Ha’aretz online reported.
“This is only the first stage" of Hamas' renewed efforts against Israel, he said.
Deif urged Arabs in Jerusalem and inside Israel, in the Negev, the Galilee and northern Israel to join the "revolution" and “set the earth on fire under the feet of the occupiers”.
Deif also called upon the “Islamic resistance in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon” to “merge their resistance with that of the Palestinians" and “start marching towards Palestine now”.
Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas, who is considered to be its leader in the West Bank, issued a similar statement calling on the Arab and Islamic nations to join “Operation al-Aqsa Flood”.
The Israeli military has issued instructions to the residents of towns near the Gaza Strip to remain in their homes, and the rest of the public to remain near bomb shelters.
“Unverified footage from the Gaza Strip purports to show Hamas terrorists with the body of an IDF soldier taken from Israel during the attack this morning,” the Times of Israel newspaper reported.
“The graphic videos show the body being taken out of a truck, as a crowd swarms around it”, it reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on his way to the Defence Ministry Headquarters in order to conduct a security assessment with the participation of all of the heads of the security establishment, a statement from the PMO said.
Timeline of the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza
August 2005 - Israeli forces unilaterally withdraw from Gaza 38 years after capturing it from Egypt in the Middle East war, abandoning settlements and leaving the enclave under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
Jan. 25, 2006 - The Islamist group Hamas wins a majority of seats in a Palestinian legislative election. Israel and the U.S. cut off aid to Palestinians because Hamas refuses to renounce violence and recognise Israel.
June 25, 2006 - Hamas militants capture Israeli army conscript Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid from Gaza, prompting Israeli air strikes and incursions. Shalit is finally freed more than five years later in a prisoner exchange.
June 14, 2007 - Hamas takes over Gaza in a brief civil war, ousting Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank.
Dec. 27, 2008 - Israel launches a 22-day military offensive in Gaza after Palestinians fire rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis are reported killed before a ceasefire is agreed.
Nov. 14, 2012 - Israel kills Hamas’s military chief of staff, Ahmad Jabari. Eight days of Palestinian militant rocket fire and Israeli air strikes follow.
July-August 2014 - The kidnap and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas leads to a seven-week war in which more than 2,100 Palestinians are reported killed in Gaza and 73 Israelis are reported dead, 67 of them military.
March 2018 - Palestinian protests begin at Gaza’s fenced border with Israel. Israeli troops open fire to keep protestors back. More than 170 Palestinians are reported killed in several months of protests, which also prompt fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces.
May 2021 - After weeks of tension during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, hundreds of Palestinians are wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces at the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site.
After demanding Israel withdraw security forces from the compound, Hamas unleashes a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israel hits back with air strikes on Gaza. Fighting goes on for 11 days, killing at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
Aug 2022 - At least 44 people, including 15 children, are killed in three days of violence that begin when Israeli air strikes hit a senior Islamic Jihad commander.
Israel says the strikes were a pre-emptive operation against an imminent attack by the Iranian-backed militant movement, targeting commanders and arms depots. In response, Islamic Jihad fires more than 1,000 rockets towards Israel. Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system prevents any serious damage or casualties.
Jan 2023 - Islamic Jihad in Gaza fires two rockets towards Israel after Israeli troops raid a refugee camp and kill seven Palestinian gunmen and two civilians. The rockets set off alarms in Israeli communities near the border but cause no casualties. Israel responds with air strikes on Gaza.
Oct 2023 - Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in years from the Gaza Strip, with a surprise assault combining gunmen crossing the border with a heavy barrage of rockets. Islamic Jihad says its fighters have joined the attack.
Israel’s military said it was on a war footing, adding it had carried out strikes targeting Hamas in Gaza and had called up reservists.