In a major escalation of a decades-long conflict, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is at war on Saturday, following an attack from Palestinian militants within the occupied Gaza Strip that killed at least 40 people and injured another 780 in one of Hamas’ biggest attacks in recent years, though Israeli forces struck back, reportedly killing nearly 200 in Palestine.
In a statement Saturday morning, Netanyahu—who resumed the position of prime minister in December after a previous 12-year stint—said the “State of Israel has been at war,” vowing to “clear out the hostile forces that infiltrated our territory and restore the security and quiet” in the attacked areas.
Hamas took credit for the offensive, with military commander Mohammed Deif calling it the “day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,” multiple outlets reported
Netanyahu said in response that Israel would “exact an immense price for the enemy, within the Gaza Strip” and to reinforce the country’s other fronts “so that nobody should mistakenly join this war,” though he did not specify which parts of the country the reinforcement would occur.
His declaration follows an attack led by Palestinian militant group Hamas from the occupied Gaza, which launched “barrages of rockets” into Israel, according to Israel’s Defense Forces, with gunmen crossing a heavily fortified border from Gaza and some of the rockets launched striking as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, its capital, the BBC reported.
In response, Israeli forces launched air strikes into Gaza targeted at Hamas military compounds, killing 198 people and injuring more than 1,600 multiple outlets reported.
“We are at war,” Netanyahu said Saturday morning, calling on “all citizens of Israel to unite in order to achieve our highest goal—victory in the war.”
TANGENT
Hamas, in its statement taking credit for the attack, referred to the strike as Operation Al-Aqsa Deluge, referencing the historic Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, a holy cite for Jews, Muslims and Christians that was captured by Israel in 1967. Deif said the operation came in defense of the mosque, which was built around the 7th Century during the initial four Islamic caliphates. In recent years, the Old City has been a cause of violence, with Israeli police conducting raids at the ancient mosque in 2021, prompting an 11-day war with Hamas.
BIG NUMBER
561. That’s how many people injured in Hamas’ attack were receiving treatment at Israeli hospitals, with 77 of them in critical condition, the Associated Press reported, citing information from hospitals and Israeli statements. The New York Times reported a hospital just north of Gaza received 68 injured people within hours of the attack.
SURPRISING FACT
The assault also marks a significant day in the conflict, on the 50th Anniversary of the so-called Yom Kippur War, when Arab forces led by allies Egypt and Syria launched an attack on Israel during the Jewish holiday.
KEY BACKGROUND
Israel, which became recognized as an independent state in 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish population as part of the Zion movement following World War II, has held Gaza and the West Bank under military occupation since 1967. Violence between Palestinians and Israeli forces heated up over the past two decades, including in a major Israeli offensive in 2002 in response to a Palestinian suicide bombing during the Jewish holiday of Passover, which killed 30 people. Violence had been escalating in recent months, with the Israeli military in June raiding the West Bank city of Jenin, killing five people and injuring more than 90 others, while a volley of Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank and Gaza last month killed six more Palestinians.
FURTHER READING
Six Palestinians Killed In Three Separate Incidents By Israeli Forces Over 24 Hours
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