Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared his nation is at war and vowed of a “mighty vengeance” after gunmen from Palestinian group Hamas rampaged through Israeli towns, killing and capturing scores of civilians and soldiers in a surprise assault that was met by Israel with massive retaliatory air strikes that killed scores in the Gaza Strip.
The worst attack on Israel for decades unleashed a war that both sides vowed to escalate.
At least 200 Israelis were reported killed and 1100 wounded by gunbattles raging in more than 20 locations inside Israel.
An Israeli civilian killed by Palestinian militants lies covered in Sderot, Israel, on 7 October 2023. Source: AP / AP
In Gaza, health officials reported more than 230 people killed and 1600 wounded.
“We will take mighty vengeance for this black day,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“We are in a war and we will win it”.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the assault that had begun in Gaza would spread to the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israeli police officers evacuate a family from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, 7 October, 2023. Source: AP / AP
“This was the morning of defeat and humiliation upon our enemy, its soldiers and its settlers,” he said in a speech.
“What happened reveals the greatness of our preparation. What happened today reveals the weakness of the enemy.”
In Sderot, in southern Israel near Gaza, bodies of Israeli civilians lay strewn across a highway, surrounded by broken glass.
A woman and a man were sprawled out dead across the front seats of a car.
A military vehicle drove past the bodies of another woman and a man in a pool of blood behind another car.
“I went out, I saw loads of bodies of terrorists, civilians, cars shot up. A sea of bodies, inside Sderot along the road, other places, loads of bodies,” said Shlomi from Sderot.
In Gaza, black smoke and orange flames billowed into the evening sky from a high-rise tower hit by an Israeli retaliatory strike.
Crowds of mourners carried the bodies of killed militants through the streets, wrapped in green Hamas flags.
Gaza’s dead and wounded were carried into crumbling and overcrowded hospitals with severe shortages of medical supplies and equipment.
Streets were deserted apart from ambulances racing to the scenes of air strikes.
Palestinian medics inspect a damaged an ambulance hit by an Israeli air strike inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 7 October, 2023. Source: AP / AP
Israel cut the power, plunging the city into darkness.
Hamas said it fired a volley of 150 rockets towards Tel Aviv on Saturday evening in retaliation for an Israeli air strike that took down a high-rise building with more than 100 apartments.
Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri told al-Jazeera that the group was holding a big number of Israeli captives, including senior officials.
He said Hamas had enough captives to make Israel free all Palestinians in its jails.
The Israeli military confirmed Israelis were being held in Gaza.
Israeli firefighters extinguish fire after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a parking lot in Ashkelon, southern Israel, 7 October, 2023. Source: AP / AP
A military spokesman said Israel could mobilise up to hundreds of thousands of reservists and was also prepared for war on its northern front against Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
Hamas said the attack was driven by what it said were Israel’s escalated attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and against Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
“This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,” Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif said, announcing the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media and calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
In Gaza, a narrow strip where 2.3 million Palestinians have lived under an Israeli blockade for 16 years, residents rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of war ahead.
Some fled their homes and headed for shelters.
“We are afraid,” Palestinian woman, Amal Abu Daqqa, told Reuters as she left her house in Khan Younis.
Australia condemns Hamas attacks on Israel
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has condemned attacks by Hamas against Israel and says Australia recognises the country’s right to defend itself.
“Australia unequivocally condemns the attacks on Israel by Hamas including indiscriminate rocket fire on cities & civilians,” Senator Wong wrote on social media platform X.
“We call for these attacks to stop & recognise Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Senator Wong added that “Australia urges the exercise of restraint & protection of civilian lives”.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the coalition “utterly condemns the unprovoked and abhorrent attack by militant Hamas on Israel.
“It is yet another example of a deliberate act of violence intended to inflict maximum harm on innocent civilians,” he said.
“The attack is a provocation. Israel has every right to defend itself in response and to deter future attacks and other acts of aggression, coercion and interference”.
US President Joe Biden denounced the Palestinian attack and pledged support for Israel.
United Nations Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland condemned the attacks on Israel, warning in a statement: “This is a dangerous precipice, and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink.”
