Israel declares ‘state of war’: Militants Hamas fire ‘5,000’ rockets into Israel and target Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as gun battles break out in border towns and Israeli soldier ‘is kidnapped’
Israel’s military has declared a ‘state of war’ after Islamic militant group Hamas fired a claimed 5,000 rockets into the country early on Saturday.
Forces in the country have ordered residents to remain indoors after confirming Hamas militants had ‘infiltrated’ the country in several locations near the Gaza border in southern Israel.
‘The military declares a state of war alert,’ it said in a statement. ‘In the last hour, the Hamas terrorist organization had begun a massive shooting of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, and terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory in a number of different locations.’
Hamas supreme military commander Mohammed Deif said the operation, Al-Aqsa Storm, was a declaration that ‘enough is enough’ as he urged Palestinians to confront Israel.
Images on social media appeared to show armed militants in built-up areas, while Israeli media reports suggested an Israeli soldier had been kidnapped by Hamas militants as they swept the streets.
Rockets are fired from Gaza City towards Israel early on Saturday as Hamas declared that it had begun a new offensive against the country
A man runs in the road as fires burn in Ashkelon, Israel, following rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip initiated by Islamic militant group Hamas
Rockets have struck buildings across southern Israel – and militants are reported to have taken to the streets after ‘infiltrating’ the country
A woman stands in a damaged room in Ashkelon, Israel after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants
A building burns in the Israeli city of Gedera after Hamas fired a claimed 5,000 rockets
Smoke could be seen rising from multiple places after barrages were fired early on Saturday in the surprise attack
Rockets landed in suburban areas, striking homes – pictured above: fire at a home in Ashkelon, southern Israel after it was struck by a rocket
The Israeli military usually carries out airstrikes in response to rocket fire
Israel also reported an infiltration from Gaza, while air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem.
The Israeli military said ‘a number of terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory’, with residents along the border area ordered to remain indoors.
One local told Israeli news website Ynet : ‘We are under attack, and no one is coming to help us. For more than an hour and a half there has been non-stop shooting. They are slaughtering us here, there is no army.’
Images have circulated on social media showing what appeared to be uniformed Palestinian gunmen inside the Israeli border town of Sderot.
Another video, reported by the AP news agency, appeared to show the lifeless body of an Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldier being trampled in Gaza by an angry crowd shouting ‘God is great’.
Another video appeared to show militants dragging away an Israeli soldier on a motorcycle. The agency said it had not been able to verify the authenticity of the footage.
The sound of outgoing rockets whooshing through the air could be heard in Gaza and sirens wailed as far away as Tel Aviv, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) to the north, during the early morning barrage that lasted more than 30 minutes.
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue agency said a 70-year-old woman was critically injured when a rocket hit a building in southern Israel.
Elsewhere, a 20-year-old man was moderately injured by rocket shrapnel, it said.
The launches came after weeks of heightened tensions along Israel’s volatile border with Gaza, and heavy fighting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.
The bitter enemies have fought four wars since then. There have also been numerous rounds of smaller fighting between Israel and Hamas and other smaller militant groups based in Gaza.
Saturday’s incident was the most serious since Israel and Hamas fought a 10-day war in 2021, with Israeli media reporting gun battles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in towns in southern Israel.
The blockade, which restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, has devastated the territory’s economy.
Israel says the blockade is needed to keep militant groups from building up their arsenals. The Palestinians say the closure amounts to collective punishment.
The rocket fire comes during a period of heavy fighting in the West Bank, where nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military raids this year.
Israel says the raids are aimed at militants, but stone-throwing protesters and people uninvolved in the violence have also been killed.
Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets have killed over 30 people.
The tensions have also spread to Gaza, where Hamas-linked activists held violent demonstrations along the Israeli border in recent weeks.
Those demonstrations were halted in late September after international mediation.
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