Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and rampaged through nearby Israeli communities, killing at least 250 people and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. Israel responded with strikes in Gaza that killed 232 and signaled more as its prime minister said the country is at war and vowed to inflict an “unprecedented price.”
In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Gaza border. In some places they gunned down civilians and soldiers as Israel’s military scrambled to muster a response.
