Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, “We are at war. Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”
“We understand that this is something big,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesman, told reporters.
The Israeli military has called up the army reserves and Israel is at war after dozens of gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Hamas infiltrated southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday in a surprise major attack that coincided with a holiday and the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur war.
Netanyahu was speaking in a video address from the headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces in Tel Aviv as the country’s air force began striking targets in Gaza, a Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean Sea.
Overnight and into the morning, Hamas militants launched thousands of rockets into Israel. Israel’s national rescue service said at least 22 people were killed and hundreds wounded. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported injuries among “many citizens” without giving numbers.
Air raids sounded across Israel’s border with Gaza and in Jerusalem. Explosions were heard in Tel Aviv.
“We have begun a wide mobilization of reservists for all IDF units, Rear. Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the IDF, said of Israel’s military operation, which it has named “Swords of Iron.”
The attack appears to have caught Israel off-guard on the Jewish holiday, Simchat Torah. It has also revived memories of the 1973 war, in which Israel’s enemies launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur.
The background of this latest war between Israel and Palestinians is highly complex, the result of a series of events that have escalated the long-standing conflict in the region. The crisis was triggered on 6 May, when Palestinians in East Jerusalem began protesting over an anticipated decision of the Supreme Court of Israel on the eviction of six Palestinian families in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The protests turned violent as Israeli police clashed with the demonstrators, using stun grenades, rubber bullets and water cannons.
The situation worsened on 10 May, when Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, issued an ultimatum to Israel to withdraw its forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a holy site for both Muslims and Jews, where more clashes had occurred. Israel did not comply, and Hamas launched hundreds of rockets into Israel, triggering a massive retaliation by the Israeli military, which carried out airstrikes and artillery bombardments on Gaza.
Israel and Hamas have fought several wars since 2007. However, it is rare for its fighters to infiltrate Israel on this scale. Millions of Israelis are seeking safety in bomb shelters and safe rooms. There are unconfirmed reports in Israeli media that Palestinian militants may be holding Israelis captive in Ofakim, a southern town.
