Gaza is 141 square miles in size. Hamas, the Islamist militant group, took control of it in 2007.
On Saturday, Shabbat and a High Holiday in Israel a highly coordinated and barbaric Hamas attack stunned the world. It was a colossal failure of the intelligence agencies to be caught so off-guard as Hamas terrorists came into Israel by using paragliders, through an amphibious operation at the Mediterranean Sea and on land along the border. Over 100 people were taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israel’s ambassador to the UK.
A compilation of Hamas clips shows how the terror group invaded southern Israel yesterday. First they bombed Israeli observation towers and weapons systems on the border, then fired hundreds of rockets as terrorists on paragliders flew over the border. Moments later, Hamas… pic.twitter.com/D4iIoCV51q
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 8, 2023
Retaliation will “reach into every place Hamas is hiding” and turn those locations into ruins, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed in a late-night TV address. Israel’s military is calling up reservist soldiers, reinforcing positions and launching airstrikes on targets in Gaza.
This morning, on Shabbat and a holiday, Hamas invaded Israeli territory and murdered innocent citizens including children and the elderly. Hamas has started a brutal and evil war.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 8, 2023
We will be victorious in this war despite an unbearable price. This is a very difficult day for all…
Anyone in areas where Hamas operates in the Gaza Strip should “leave those places now,” Netanyahu said. He added, “Israel will settle the score with anyone who harms them.”
Israeli airstrikes hit central Gaza City Saturday night, leveling a 14-story building that housed Hamas offices, as well as apartments, according to The Associated Press. The agency reports that Israel gave warning of the airstrike, and no casualties were reported.
The Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group – one of the first to openly support the Hamas incursion – struck Israeli positions in a disputed area along the border with Syria’s Golan Heights and Israel responded with drone strikes on Hezbollah targets.
The situation now
In case you didn’t hear the IDF spokesman, it begins…
— Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld) October 9, 2023
Gaza is under complete lockdown. No one comes. No one leaves. The border is locked down. All passages are closed.
We have shut down their electricity. We have cleaned our towns and cities of any terrorists.
300,000… pic.twitter.com/PkDjZtirio