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2023-10-07 at 19:08 #423491
Nat Quinn
KeymasterAt least 198 people have been killed and 1,610 wounded in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza during Israelâs retaliation after a deadly multi-pronged attack by Hamas forces into Israel, the health ministry says.
The growing casualty toll on Saturday came after the Palestinian group running the Gaza Strip launched the largest attack on Israel in years, infiltrating areas in the south of the country following a barrage of thousands of rockets fired from the besieged territory.
Israelâs national rescue service, Magen David Adom, said at least 40 people have been killed as hospitals in Israel are treating hundreds of wounded people, including dozens in critical condition. Local media reported the number has now risen to at least 100 dead.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE ESCALATION UPDATE CLICK HERE
Israelâs Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hamas it made a âgrave mistakeâ in launching the attack, which began at 6:30am local time (03:30 GMT) and involved barrages of rockets fired from multiple locations in Gaza as well as fighters infiltrating Israel by land, sea and air.
âCitizens of Israel, we are at war,â Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message from military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Later on Saturday, Israelâs military said it launched air raids on Gaza in response to the attack.
âDozens of [Israeli military] fighter jets are currently striking a number of targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip,â the Israeli military said.
Mohammed Deif, a senior Hamas military commander, said the rocket fire marked the start of âOperation Al-Aqsa Floodâ, and he called on Palestinians everywhere to fight the Israeli occupation.
âWeâve decided to say enough is enough,â Deif said as he urged all Palestinians to confront Israel. âThis is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on Earth,â he said in an audio message.
Israelâs military told Israelis living around the Gaza Strip to stay in their homes and warned Hamas would pay a âheavy price for its actionsâ.
Israeli media reported Palestinian fighters opened fire on passers-by in the town of Sderot, in southern Israel, and footage circulating on social media appeared to show uniformed Palestinians engaged in clashes in the border area.
Another video on social media appeared to show a burning Israeli tank surrounded by jubilant Palestinians.
Israeli warplanes started to pound locations in Gaza â in what the military called âOperation Iron Swordsâ â and Israeli soldiers were engaged in ground fighting in several locations around the besieged Palestinian enclave.
âRight now weâre fighting. Weâre fighting in certain locations around the Gaza Strip ⌠our forces are now fighting on the ground,â Israelâs army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.
Witnesses in Gaza heard loud explosions.
Enas Keshta, a resident of Rafah in southern Gaza, said Palestinians are looking at a âtough nightâ ahead as Israeli attacks on the blockaded enclave continue.
âThe situation here in Gaza is not good at all. I can assure you that we are not ready, and we have a tough night waiting for us,â she told Al Jazeera. âNo place is safe.â
Widespread shock and fear abounds in Gaza.
âWe have been as surprised and frightened as the [occupation] since the operation began,â said Munir Nasser, a Gaza grocery vendor. âWe havenât seen footage of Palestinians breaching the occupied towns and villages beyond the barriers like this before.â
The outbreak of major fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters comes after weeks of growing tensions along Israelâs volatile border with Gaza, and months of deadly clashes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
At least 247 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far this year, while 32 Israelis and two foreign nationals have been killed in previous Palestinian attacks.
Tor Wennesland, United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, condemned âthe multi-front assault againstâ Israeli towns and cities near Gaza, which he called âheinous attacks targeting civiliansâ.
âThese events have resulted in horrific scenes of violence and many Israeli fatalities and injuries, with many believed to be kidnapped inside the Strip. These are heinous attacks targeting civilians and must stop immediately,â Wennesland said in a statement.
âI am deeply concerned for the well-being of all civilians. I am in close contact with all concerned to urge maximum restraint and call on all sides to protect civilians,â he said.
âThis is a dangerous precipice and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink.â
In a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app earlier on Saturday, Hamas called on âthe resistance fighters in the West Bankâ as well as âour Arab and Islamic nationsâ to join the continuing fight.
Saleh al-Arouri, an exiled Hamas leader, said âOperation Al-Aqsa Floodâ was a response âto the crimes of the occupationâ and Palestinian fighters were defending their sacred site in occupied East Jerusalem.
Lebanonâs Hezbollah movement, which was founded in 1982 to fight the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, said in a statement that it was following the events in Gaza closely and was in âdirect contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistanceâ.
SOURCE:Â AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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