Israel has declared it is at war after Hamas, the ruling militant group in Gaza, conducted an unprecedented, multi-front attack, firing thousands of rockets across the border in a deadly attack carried out by fighters over land, air and sea.
At least 70 people were killed and hundreds seriously injured in the surprise attack that caught the country and intelligence services off-guard on a major holiday early on Saturday morning (local time). The death toll is expected to rise.
Less than 12 hours into the conflict, Israeli officials reported at least 3000 rockets had been fired from Gaza towards Israel, while local media and witnesses described infiltrating militants, including some who entered using paragliders, and others who captured soldiers and civilians as hostages.
Israel launched “Operation Sword of Iron” in retaliation to the deadliest attack on its soil in years, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring in a televised statement: “We are at war.”
“We will bring the fight to them with might and scale which the enemy has not yet known,” he said.
Announcing a mass army mobilisation, Netanyahu insisted it was “not an operation, not a round, but at war. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he said.
Israeli emergency services on Saturday said at least 70 people had been killed, with more than 900 taken to Israeli hospitals with injuries. Palestinian health authorities said 198 Palestinians had been killed and more than 1600 wounded in Gaza by early Saturday evening (local time).
Read the article by Lucy Cormack in The Sydney Morning Herald and the Brisbane Times.