Palestinian terrorists in Gaza launched a stunning attack against Israel on Saturday with rockets and ground forces, inflicting significant casualties and prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare “we are at war.”
At least 40 people were reported killed in the initial volley as Hamas forces focused on southern and central Israel, and infiltrated the town of Sderot, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
”We are at war,” Netanyahu declared in a televised address. “Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”
“The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he added, promising that Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”
The major attack early Saturday morning around 6:30 local time consisted of rocket barrages, according to The Times of Israel.
CNN is reporting that Hamas, which controls Gaza, claimed 5,000 rockets have been fired in the first hours of the attack in what Hamas is calling an “Al-Aqsa Storm,” and that sirens have gone off in Jerusalem, where they’ve heard rocket-warning sirens and booms, indicating the interception of incoming rockets.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was headed to Tel Aviv to meet with other security chiefs and with Netanyahu. The Israel Defense Forces said it was moving to a “state of war readiness.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi was assessing the situation and approving plans of action.
“Hamas… which is behind this attack, will bear the results and responsibility for the events,” the IDF said.
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Written by staff reporters at Just the News.
Image “Benjamin Netanyahu” by GRO/Benjamin Netanyahu.
