At least 198 Palestinians martyred, over 1,600 wounded in Gaza air strikes as Israel responds to Hamas attack
JERUSALEM/ISLAMABAD, Oct 07 (SABAH): At least 198 people were martyred in Gaza on Saturday, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave, following a barrage of rockets fired into Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas, to which Israel responded with air strikes.
The ministry said up until 4:20 pm (1320 GMT) there were “198 martyrs and 1,610 wounded with different injuries” in the conflict.
Earlier in the day, Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years, killing at least 40 people in a surprise assault that combined gunmen penetrating into Israeli towns with a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
Israel said the group had declared war as its army confirmed fighting with Hamas fighters in several Israeli towns and military bases near Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.
“Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known,” he said. “We are in a war and we will win it.”
At least 40 Israelis were killed in the attack so far with more than 770 wounded, Israel’s ambulance service said, but added that the toll was expected to rise.
“Since the morning hours, the Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical services said teams provided medical care to hundreds of casualties, and pronounced 40 people dead,” it said, while the Israeli health ministry confirmed that at least 779 people had been injured and taken to hospitals.
The Israeli military said it had launched air strikes into Gaza, where witnesses reported hearing heavy explosions, with at least two dead.
The attack marked an unprecedented infiltration by an unknown number of Hamas gunmen into Israel from Gaza and one of the most serious escalations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years.
Israeli broadcaster Reshet 13 TV News said fighters were holding Israelis hostage in the town of Ofakim, and that five Palestinian fighters had been killed in the town of Sderot and homes had been set on fire.
Israeli media reported gunbattles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in towns in southern Israel. Israel’s police chief said there were “21 active scenes” in southern Israel, indicating the extent of the attack.
In Gaza, people rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of conflict ahead. Some evacuated their homes and headed for shelters.
Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
“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.
The last major flare-up between Israel and Hamas was a 10-day war in 2021.
Speaking to Israel N12 News by phone from Nir Oz, a kibbutz near Gaza, a woman identified as Dorin said fighters had infiltrated her house and tried to open the bomb shelter where she was hiding.
“They just came in again, please send help,” she said. “There are a lot of homes harmed … My husband is holding the door closed … They are firing rounds of bullets.”
Israeli Defence Minister Gallant said “troops are fighting against the enemy at every location” and authorised the call-up of reservists.
The Israeli military said its forces were operating inside Gaza but gave no details.
Israeli media reported that gunmen had opened fire on passers-by in Sderot, and footage circulating on social media appeared to show clashes in city streets as well as gunmen in jeeps roaming the countryside. “We were told there are terrorists inside the kibbutz, we can hear gunfire,” a young woman named Dvir, from Beeri Kibbutz, told Israeli Army Radio from her bomb shelter.
The escalation comes against a backdrop of surging violence between Israel and Palestinian fighters in the West Bank, which together with the Gaza Strip is part of the territories where Palestinians have long sought to establish a state.
It also comes at a time of political upheaval in Israel, which has been riven by deep divisions over moves to overhaul the judiciary, and as Washington works to strike a deal that would normalise ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Lebanese group Hezbollah said the operation was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalisation with Israel”.
Hamas media displayed videos of what it said were bodies of Israeli soldiers brought into Gaza by fighters, and Palestinian gunmen inside Israeli homes and touring an Israeli town in jeeps reportedly been driven into Israel by the attackers. British official news agency “Reuters” was not immediately able to verify the footage.
Palestinian media also reported that a number of Israelis had been taken captive by fighters and Hamas media circulated video footage apparently showing a destroyed Israeli tank.
The Israeli military was aware of reports of captives, a security source said, but provided no further details. In a briefing with reporters, an Israeli military spokesman declined to comment.
In Gaza, the roar of rocket launches could be heard and residents reported armed clashes along the separation fence with Israel, near the southern town of Khan Younis, and said they had seen significant movement of armed fighters.
Israel’s ambulance service said teams had been dispatched to areas in southern Israel near Gaza and residents were warned to stay inside.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said its fighters were joining Hamas in the attack.
“We are part of this battle, our fighters are side-by-side with their brothers in the Qassam Brigades until victory is achieved,” said Islamic Jihad armed wing spokesman Abu Hamza in a post on Telegram.
Palestinians in Gaza expressed disbelief at the infiltration into Israel. “It is like a dream. I still can’t believe it,” said one Gaza shopkeeper.
The attack came a day after Israel marked the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war that brought the country to the verge of catastrophic defeat in a surprise attack by Syria and Egypt.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has expressed his profound concern over the escalating violence in the Middle East, emphasising the pressing need to address the “Palestine Question”.
“We urge restraint and protection of civilians. Enduring peace in the Middle East lies in a two state solution with a viable, contiguous, sovereign State of Palestine, founded on pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al-Sharif at its heart,” he said in a post on X.
According to the Saudi state media, the foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia called for an immediate cessation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
“We are following developments in the unprecedented situation between Palestinian factions and the occupation forces,” the state media quoted the Saudi foreign ministry.
Egypt warned of “grave consequences” from an escalation in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in a statement from the foreign ministry carried by the state news agency on Saturday.
It called for “exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further danger”.
Hezbollah issued a statement on Saturday saying they were closely following the situation in Gaza and were in “direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance”.
Following events involving Gaza fighters who fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, the statement added that it was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalisation with Israel.”
The White House National Security spokesperson said the US “unequivocally condemns” the attacks and stands with Israel, broadcaster “CNN” reported.
“The United States condemns Hamas’s horrific attacks on Israel. There is no justification for terrorism. The United States supports Israel’s right to self-defense,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement issued on twitter on Saturday.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism.”
Likewise, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also “unequivocally” condemned a surprise attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel on Saturday, said.
“The UK unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians. The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself,” Cleverly said in a post on social media.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also strongly condemned the terrorist attacks from Gaza on Israel, saying that Israel has the right to protect itself from terror.
The French foreign ministry said that France condemned the “terrorist attacks underway against Israel and its population” and that France expressed its full solidarity with Israel.