Following an extraordinary sneak attack that claimed at least 300 Israeli lives, Israel has initiated a counterattack against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in the south and is hammering Lebanon with artillery in the north. Read full article
After Israel's bloodiest day of fighting in 50 years, the sun rose on Sunday, and in retaliation, Israeli aeroplanes bombed Gaza City, which was heavily populated.
After the Palestine Tower, one of the highest structures in the strip and located in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood, was reduced to ruins, heavy smoke and flames could be seen rising from Gaza's Burc Vatan shopping centre.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported that after "shooting" into Israeli land, it is now conducting artillery strikes in Lebanon.
Concerns that Hezbollah terrorists supported by Iran are getting ready to launch a second front have led observers to see columns of heavy weaponry, including tanks and armoured personnel carriers, travelling north towards Israel's border with Lebanon and Syria.
The 'offensive phase' of the IDF reaction has started, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early on Sunday. "We are embarking on a long and difficult war that was forced on us by a murderous Hamas attack," he added.
Since Hamas launched its blitz onslaught on Saturday morning with missiles and up to 1,000 armed terrorists roaming in gangs, attacking civilians and military alike across dozens of areas, more than 300 Israelis have been murdered and 1,590 injured.
Israel's military has revealed that a Hamas militant attack on the country's south resulted in at least 26 Israeli soldiers dying.
Israel was still battling eight Hamas incursions on Sunday morning, according to the Israeli military.
According to an Israeli military spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, Israel is experiencing a dreadful start this morning. Many individuals have been slaughtered, including children, grandmothers, families, and bodies.
Additionally, on Israel's darkest day in decades,
On Saturday morning, Hamas fighters launched a massive rocket bombardment into southern Israel to start their onslaught, providing cover for an unprecedented, multifaceted fighter incursion into Israel from Gaza.
In confrontations throughout the day, Hamas fighters killed hundreds of Israelis and fled back into Gaza with at least dozens of hostages, including women, children, and elderly Israelis who were crippled.
Despite claiming that two hostage situations had been "resolved" early on Sunday, an Israeli military spokeswoman did not specify whether the captives had been freed alive.
Although there is presently no official estimate of the number of abductions, the Israeli Embassy in the United States offers the estimate of 100 civilians and troops.
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, called the Hamas attack "cowardly and depraved."
He wrote on X, "We stand unequivocally with Israel as the barbarity of today's atrocities becomes clearer."
According to US President Joe Biden, "we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel" and that "we unequivocally condemn this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza."
"Terrorism can never be excused." Israel has a right to protect its citizens, he declared.
After dusk, Israeli bombings in Gaza grew more intense, levelling residential buildings in enormous explosions, including a 14-story tower in downtown Gaza City that housed dozens of apartments as well as offices for Hamas. Just before, Israeli forces issued a warning.
Residents of adjoining apartment complexes were given a stern warning to leave right away at 3 in the morning via a loudspeaker atop a mosque in Gaza City. A few minutes later, an adjacent five-story building was turned to ashes by an Israeli airstrike.
A Hamas rocket fire, which followed an Israeli strike, targeted four cities, including Tel Aviv and a nearby suburb. The Israeli military reported that Hamas fired more than 3,500 rockets during the day.
Early on Sunday, Israeli officials claimed that efforts to exterminate the armed invaders were coming to a close.
Following an early morning Security Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu declared that "the first stage is ending at this point by the destruction of the vast majority of the enemy forces that infiltrated our territory."
"At the same time, we have started the offensive phase, which will go on until the goals are reached without any restrictions or breaks. We will triumph, and we will give Israel's citizens their security back," he continued.
The Security Cabinet resolved to stop supplying fuel, power, and other products to Gaza, a small strip of land that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, according to the PM's office. Israel has been enforcing a blockade on Gaza for 16 years.
According to Netanyahu's administration, his security cabinet had approved measures to 'for years' dismantle Islamic Jihad and Hamas' military and governmental capacities.
In certain southern Israel locations, Israeli soldiers fought against Hamas terrorists throughout the night. On social media, a representative for the Israeli army stated that the situation was not entirely under control.
The southern Israeli city of Sderot, which is close to Gaza, was littered with the bodies of Israeli residents encircled by shattered glass. A guy and a woman's remains were strewn across the front seats of an automobile.
Israelis in safe rooms, gripped with fear, described their situation on live television over the phone.
According to the Israeli military, senior military officers were among those killed in battle close to Gaza.
Black smoke, orange lights, and sparks from explosions lit up the sky over Gaza. Israeli drones were audible in the sky.
The dead and injured from Gaza were taken into congested, dilapidated hospitals with serious shortages of medical supplies and technology. According to the health ministry, 232 people were murdered and at least 1,700 were injured.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, declared that the attack, which the group called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, will spread to Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Haniyeh underlined threats against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the continuance of Israel's blockade of Gaza, and Israeli normalisation with neighbours in a speech.
How many times have we reminded you that the Palestinian people have been displaced for 75 years and you still refuse to acknowledge their rights?