As the ruling Hamas militant group proclaimed the start of a new campaign, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip launched an unprecedented infiltration into southern Israel.
In response, Israel started attacking targets in Gaza, preparing the ground for what was sure to be a new intense round of conflict between the fierce rivals.
Videos shared on social media purported to show armed Palestinians entering the Israeli border town of Sderot wearing uniforms. An furious mob was shown trampling on what appeared to be the lifeless body of an Israeli soldier in a video from Gaza while yelling “God is Great.”
In another video, it appeared that Palestinian insurgents were pulling an Israeli soldier who was still alive away on a motorcycle. In other videos, a group of Palestinian males could be seen dancing around and on a burning Israeli tank. The videos’ veracity could not be readily confirmed.
“Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” said Mohammed Deif, the enigmatic head of Hamas’ military arm.
In the taped message, he exclaimed, “Enough is enough,” urging Palestinians to take up arms. In Israel, he claimed, Hamas had launched more than 5,000 rockets.
The operation, according to exiled Hamas commander Salah Arouri, was a reaction “to the crimes of the occupation.” He claimed that fighters were defending both Israel’s tens of thousands of Palestinian inmates and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
In a shocking display of power that shocked the nation, Hamas militants were still engaged in gunfights several hours after the invasion started in multiple Israeli communities. According to Israel’s national rescue service, the attack was the bloodiest on Israelis in years with at least 22 fatalities and hundreds of injuries.
Although there was no official word on casualties in Gaza, Associated Press correspondents were present for the burial of 15 victims and the arrival of eight additional bodies at a nearby hospital. It was unclear right away if they were combatants or civilians.
“we are at war,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised speech that calling for a massive army mobilization.
“At war,” not “an operation,” “a round,” said said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in media reports.
Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager
