Israel declares state of war after Hamas fires thousands of rockets and ‘militants cross border’ – live
Palestinian fighters have launched the largest attack on Israel in years, infiltrating areas of southern Israel amid a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip that killed at least one woman and injured 15 others, Israeli medical workers said.
The rocket fire began from multiple locations in Gaza starting at 06:30am local time (03:30 GMT) on Saturday and continued for nearly half an hour, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.
Mohammed Deif, a senior Hamas military commander, later announced the start of a military operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
Deif said the rockets fired marked the start of “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm”, according to reports.
“We’ve decided to say enough is enough,” Deif said as he urged all Palestinians to confront Israel. “This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,” he said, adding that 5,000 rockets had been launched.
Israel’s military told Israelis living around the Gaza Strip to stay in their homes and warned that Hamas will pay a “heavy price for its actions”.
Israeli media reported that armed fighters had opened fire on passersby in the town of Sderot, in southern Israel, and footage circulating on social media appeared to show uniformed Palestinian fighters engaged in clashes in the border town.
Another video on social media appeared to show a burning Israeli tank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting with his top security officials on Saturday morning.
Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said the “element of surprise” in the early morning attack which appeared to involve Palestinian fighters in trucks inside Israel and on paragliders, in addition to the rocket fire, will leave Israelis “shocked and stunned”.
The fighting on Saturday comes after weeks of growing tensions along Israel’s volatile border with Gaza, and 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 Palestinian attacks.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Hamas called on “the resistance fighters in the West Bank” as well as “our Arab and Islamic nations” to join the battle.
Saleh al-Arouri, an exiled Hamas leader, said the operation on Saturday was a response “to the crimes of the occupation”.
He said Palestinian fighters were defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and fighting for the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant approved the mobilisation of army reservists on Saturday in response to the Hamas operation, an Israeli defence ministry spokesperson said.
Israel’s military declared “a state of war alert”, earlier in the day.
Woman whose body was paraded around on back of Hamas pick-up truck identified
By Lizzie McAllister, News reporter - The Daily Star
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A woman who was killed in yesterday's strike on Israel before her lifeless body was paraded around on a pick-up truck has been identified by her family.
Shani Louk, 30, had been visiting the besieged nation from Germany with a tourist group and was attending a "music festival for peace" when she was kidnapped during a surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday (October 7). The assault saw thousands of rockets fired at civilian settlements from Gaza as gunmen took to the streets.
Horror footage on social media showed Shani's corpse lying in the truck surrounded by terrorists, with one of her legs cocked at an unnatural angle. Hamas supporters were heard cheering and ran next to the truck, while some were even filmed spitting on Shani.
Hamas claimed the body belonged to a female Israeli soldier. However, multiple members of Shani's family have since identified her, with her cousin saying they had recognised the tattoo artist's leg tattoos and dreadlocks.
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"It is definitely Shani," Tomasina Weintraub-Louk confirmed to the Daily Mail. "She was at a music festival for peace. This is a nightmare for our family."
Meanwhile Shani's devastated sister took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: "This is my sister Shani Louk. She is taken by Hamas. She is a German citizen," alongside the same message translated into German.
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In a heartbreaking video posted to social media, Shani's mum asked for "any help or news" concerning her daughter's demise. Speaking in German, she said: "This morning my daughter Shani Louk, a German citizen, was kidnapped by Hamas with a tourist group in the south of Israel.
"We were sent a video where I could clearly see our daughter, unconscious in the car with the Palestinians, driving through the Gaza Strip."
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Shani's mum has asked for 'any help or news' following her daughter's death (Image: Instagram)
Shani is one of at least 250 people who lost their lives in yesterday's attacks, while another 3,200 were injured. The assault also saw property and infrastructure damaged or destroyed across Israel.
Hamas, recognised as a terrorist group by the UK and a number of other countries, said its goal was to "set the earth on fire under the feet of the occupiers" after it launched the attack – which fell on the Jewish high holiday of Simchat Torah.
The group's military chief Mohammed Deif said: "This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth." Deif claimed some 5,000 rockets were launched in the initial attack, while other estimates have put the figure closer to 2,200.
Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the country would fight back. Taking to X, he simply wrote: "We are at war," accompanied by a video statement in Hebrew.
At least 9 Americans killed in Israel war, State Department spokesman says
by Anders Hagstrom - FOX News
At least nine Americans have been killed in the unprecedented assault on Israel by Hamas terrorists, the State Department said Monday.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken announced on Sunday that the U.S. had received reports that Americans had been killed or taken hostage in the Hamas assault. President Biden's administration has yet to clarify whether or how many Americans may have been taken hostage.
State Department spokesman Matt Miller announced the new death toll on MSNBC on Monday.
The updated death toll comes as Israeli media say at least 800 people were killed in the Hamas attack, with more than 2,000 wounded.
The U.S. military has responded to the attack by moving an aircraft carrier group into the eastern Mediterranean Sea closer to Israel. The U.S. has supplied Israel with aid, but has yet to take direct action.
12 rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel as fears of Hezbollah joining war simmer
by Anders Hagstrom - FOX News
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Extremists in Lebanon fired 12 rockets into Israel on monday, stoking fears that the terror group Hezbollah may join Israel's ongoing war with Hamas.
Israel's military is deployed against Hamas terrorists in around Gaza in southern Israel, but the threat of Hezbollah would come from Israel's northern border. Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel earlier this weekend, leading to swift airstrikes from the Israeli military.
Amir Avivi, CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), told Fox News Digital that he was surprised that Hamas’s attack on Saturday was not coordinated with Hezbollah or that Hezbollah did not take advantage of the events unfolding to also attack Israel.
Avivi said that Hezbollah’s failure to join forces with Hamas could have been due to an Iranian desire to keep the Shiite group intact for any future confrontations. If both groups attacked Israel together, he theorized, they might end up being destroyed and leaving Iran more vulnerable.
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Attacks on Israel have now killed at least 800, local media report
by Anders Hagstrom - FOX News
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Attacks from Hamas terrorists on Israel have killed at least 800 people, Israeli media reported Monday.
The casualties numbers have continued to mount as the Israeli military regains control of the areas surrounding the Gaza border.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the region, and military officials have declared they will "kill every terrorist in Israel.
Israeli forces recaptured areas near the Gaza Strip that had been overrun in a Hamas mass-infiltration over the weekend, Reuters reported. The Israeli Defense Force re-established control of communities but isolated clashes remain throughout the country, a military spokesperson said on Monday.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters mock Israeli dead in New York City
by Anders Hagstrom - FOX News
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Pro-Palestinian protesters rejoiced in the deaths of Israeli citizens at the hands of Hamas terrorists at a demonstration in New York City on Sunday.
Pro-Palestinian groups in Times Square could be heard chanting "700," the confirmed number of Israeli dead as of Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, pro-Israel demonstrators nearby held the Israeli flag and mourned the loss of life.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they chanted.
Meanwhile, pro-Israeli demonstrators chanted "shame" and "murderers" at the protesters.
“In their place, I would be very ashamed to show my face here today, after yesterday they murdered so many of our children, the elderly, women and helpless people,” Israeli demonstrator Tanya Farhi-Altman told the Times of Israel. “I would be ashamed and stay home. I would also say ‘I’m sorry.'”
“The whole world should know there was a massacre in Israel. That’s why I’m here,” she added.
