JERUSALEM (AP) — The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters in
filtrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday.
There were reports of many more casualties on both sides, but authorities did not immediately release details. Israeli media reported that dozens of people were hospitalized in southern Israel. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported injuries among “many citizens" without giving numbers and loudspeakers on mosques broadcast prayers of mourning for killed militants.
In a televised address, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hamas had made “a grave mistake” and promised that “the state of Israel will win this war.” The infiltration of fighters into southern Israel marked a major accomplishment — and escalation — by Hamas. Millions of people were hunkering down in safe rooms, sheltering from rocket explosions and ongoing gunbattles with Hamas fighters. Cities and towns emptied as the military closed roads near Gaza. The army ordered residents near the Palestinian enclave to stay inside. Israel's rescue service appealed to the public to donate blood.
In the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, just 4 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, terrified residents who were huddled indoors said they could hear constant gunfire echoing off the buildings as firefights continued even hours after the initial attack. The divisions within army ranks have threatened to undermine Netanyahu’s reputation as a security expert who would do anything to protect Israel and the cohesion of an institution crucial to the stability of a country locked in low-intensity conflicts on multiple fronts and facing threats from Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.
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