Palestinian insurgents launched dozens of missiles into Israel early on Saturday, carrying out an unprecedented invasion, according to the news agency AFP. One lady was killed in the attack. Israel declared a “state of war” in response to the event after multiple infiltrations and rocket assaults from the Gaza Strip. It also encouraged its citizens to stay inside.
“A number of terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory,” the Israeli military claimed. As air raid sirens rang throughout Israel, including in Jerusalem, it said that it was attacking targets in the Gaza Strip, according to news agency AP.
On social media, amateur videos purported to show armed individuals inside the Israeli border town of Sderot who appeared to be wearing uniforms. The videos’ validity could not be immediately determined, although shooting could be heard in them.
During the early-morning onslaught, which lasted for more than 30 minutes, sirens could be heard 70 km to the north in Tel Aviv and sounds of launching missiles could be heard in Gaza.
According to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue organisation, a missile that struck a building in southern Israel badly injured a 70-year-old woman. A 20-year-old guy was moderately hurt by missile shrapnel in another location, it claimed.
Mohammed Deif, the reclusive head of Hamas’ military branch, the group that opposes Israel, announced in a rare public announcement that it had begun a new military offensive against Israel.
According to Mohammed Deif, “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” started early on Saturday with the launch of 5,000 missiles towards Israel. “We’ve decided to say enough is enough,” Deif spoke while urging the Palestinians to face Israel.
Deif, who has escaped many Israeli murder attempts, avoids making an appearance in public. He made a recording of his message.
The rocket launches followed weeks of escalating tensions along Israel’s tumultuous border with Gaza and intense fighting in the West Bank that Israel occupies. Israel has kept Gaza under siege ever since Hamas took over the region in 2007. Since then, the fierce rivals have engaged in four conflicts. There have also been other instances of lesser-scale combat between Israel and smaller terrorist organisations headquartered in Gaza, including Hamas.
The Gaza Strip’s economy has been completely destroyed by the embargo, which restricts the flow of people and products into and out of the region. Israel claims that the embargo is necessary to prevent militant organisations from stockpiling weapons. The closure, according to the Palestinians, amounted to collective punishment.
The most recent Palestinian rocket launch occurred amid intense fighting in the West Bank, where Israeli military operations have claimed up to 200 Palestinian lives so far this year. Although stone-throwing protestors and those who were not participating in the rioting have also been murdered, Israel claims that the operations are targeting militants. Over 30 individuals have been murdered as a result of Palestinian assaults against Israeli targets.
Hamas-affiliated demonstrators have recently staged violent protests near the Israeli border in Gaza, where the tensions have also expanded. After international intervention, those protests were put to an end to in late September.
