IRIA News

As many as 700 Israelis have been confirmed dead and 2,260 injured as the Hamas group launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel in years on October 7, 2023. At least 400 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes beginning on Saturday afternoon. Five Hamas militants were also reported killed inside Israel.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has launched its biggest attack on Israel in years with many killed, hostages taken, and fighting raging after a surprise assault and a barrage of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel.

Key points

• 700 Israelis confirmed dead after surprise attack by Hamas
• 413 dead in Gaza after retaliatory Israeli strikes
• Israel hits 426 targets in Gaza, flattening residential buildings
• Hamas has taken Israeli soldiers and civilians as captives, Israeli military confirms
• ‘We are at war and we will win’: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
• Hamas says it fired 5,000 rockets, Israel says 3,000
• Israel cuts power supply to Gaza
• U.S. is sending a carrier strike group closer to Israel to begin supplying munitions

Shortly after the initial attack, a senior Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif released a statement calling on all Palestinians to join the fight against Israeli occupation in what he referred to as Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

“We’ve decided to say enough is enough. This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on Earth,” Deif said in an audio message.

The Israeli military has also confirmed the reports that Hamas militants have captured several Israeli soldiers and civilians and holding them as hostages in Gaza. However, the military did not mention the number of hostages that were seized by the Hamas. According to the Israeli military statement, the Hamas militants infiltrated Israeli communities in the south of the country and kidnapped a number of Israelis.

Death toll in Israel rises above 700

Videos and photos of dead and captured Israeli soldiers have been circulating throughout social media platforms as Hamas and Israeli forces rage gun battles against each other in dozens of areas inside Israeli territory. Other videos showed armed men from Hamas hauling soldiers and civilians into captivity in Gaza.

Israel’s rescue and medical services and media reportedon Sunday night that at least 700 Israeli citizens and soldiers were killed and about 2,200 wounded, making it the deadliest attack in decades. At least 100 Israeli soldiers and civilians were also taken as hostages into Gaza By Hamas.

According to some reports on social media, four Israeli helicopters were also hit by surface-to-air missiles fired by Palestinian militants.

More than 400 Palestinians killed, 2300 wounded

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that at least 413 people have been killed and about 2,300 wounded in Israel’s retaliation after the Hamas assault. Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes in Gaza and attacked two high-rise towers in the Gaza Strip. Israel says that these buildings used to house Hamas assets but these attacks in densely populated areas also led to the death of civilians.

#UPDATE: The death toll of the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 232, with 1,697 others injured, since early today morning. pic.twitter.com/gXwvdrY7K6

— Wafa News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) October 7, 2023

Within hours of the initial attacks, the Israeli military launched aerial attacks on Gaza killing several Palestinians. The Israeli military used warplanes to target Palestinian locations indiscriminately in its “Operation Iron Swords”. The ground forces also engaged in gun battles with Hamas fighters at several locations in Gaza as they attempted to release the captured hostages.

Netanyahu says Israel is ‘at war’

Israel has declared a state of war in response to the attacks, which appear to have caught the Israeli military and government services by surprise.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message following the attack as he declared that his country was at war. He said that enemies would pay a heavy price for their actions.

Since this morning, the State of Israel has been at war. Our first objective is to clear out the hostile forces that infiltrated our territory and restore the security and quiet to the communities that have been attacked.

The second objective, at the same time, is to exact an… pic.twitter.com/MzKs7tfv4M

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 7, 2023

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” Netanyahu said in a video message from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hamas that it made a “grave mistake” in launching the attack.

“We will take mighty vengeance for this black day,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added.

Israel cuts electricity supply to Gaza

Israeli authorities have ordered the state-run electricity company to halt supply to the Gaza Strip after the attack by Hamas.

“I have signed an order instructing (Israel) Electric Company to stop the electricity supply to Gaza,” Energy Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Why Hamas attacked Israel?

Backed by the Israeli military, the armed Jewish settlers have been taking the law into their own hands by attacking Palestinian villages and capturing local land. Extreme religious nationalists inside Israel’s right-wing government have also backed the claims for occupation of territories.

The surprise attack on Israel has been building for months as the tensions had been on the rise in the region. Armed Palestinians, especially those operating out of the West Bank towns of Jenin and Nablus, had been carrying out small-scale attacks on Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers in the region but no one expected that Hamas could plan such a complex and coordinated operation out of Gaza.

The attack on Israel comes on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war when Israel’s Arab neighbors launched a similar surprise attack hoping to reclaim lost territory. The event was recorded as the Yom Kippur War as it started on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar. It is also known as the Ramadan War or October War in other records. The attack came after Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War of 1967.

Hezbollah praises Hamas for ‘heroic operation’

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah praised Hamas. “Hezbollah congratulates the resisting Palestinian people,” the Lebanese Shia movement said in a statement, hailing Hamas and its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, for the ”large-scale, heroic operation”.

They said that they were in “direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance”. The statement also added it was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalization with Israel“.

World reaction

The surprise assault by the Hamas group sparked a strong reaction from global leaders.

EU: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on social media: “I unequivocally condemn the attack carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel… Israel has the right to defend itself against such heinous attacks.” Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: “We unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas. This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing.”

France and Germany: French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “terrorist attacks” against Israel. “I strongly condemn the terrorist attacks which are currently hitting Israel. I express my full solidarity with the victims, and their families and those close to them,” Macron wrote on X. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on social media: “We are deeply shocked by the rocket fire from Gaza and the escalating violence. Germany condemns these attacks by Hamas and stands by Israel”.

Biden condemns Hamas attack and offers support to Israel

United States President Joe Biden condemned the “appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza” and spoke with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A statement released by the White House said that Biden told the Israeli leader that “we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support” to the Israeli government and the Israeli people.

Today, I spoke with @IsraeliPM about the appalling Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. I offered our support and reiterated my unwavering commitment to Israel’s security. @FLOTUS and I express our heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost loved ones.

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 7, 2023

Biden says that the Jewish state “has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation.” The president also says his administration’s support for Israel’s security is “rock solid and unwavering.”

Turkey offers mediation to ease tensions

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Israelis and Palestinians to act with restraint and refrain from hostile acts that could exacerbate the situation. Expressing serious concerns over the renewed escalation between Israel and Palestine, the Turkish government said that it is ready to help de-escalate the tense situation.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Ankara is ready to offer support to ensure the situation does not escalate further, adding: “In this regard, we continue our intensive contacts with relevant parties.”

UNICEF closely monitoring the situation

United Nations Humanitarian Aid Organization (UNICEF) chief Catherine Russell expressed concerns over ongoing conflict. Catherine Russell said that she is “deeply concerned for the wellbeing of children in Israel and the State of Palestine.”

Russell further added, “With hundreds of civilians reportedly killed or injured, we are closely monitoring the situation for reports of grave rights violations committed against children.”

Arab countries call for de-escalation

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Egypt have all urged for restraint and de-escalation to save lives.

Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia urged the international community to initiate a peace process leading to a two-state solution to achieve peace in the region and protect civilians. Riyadh called for “an immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides, the protection of civilians, and the exercise of restraint.”

UAE: The UAE in its statement stressed the need to stop the escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and stressed the importance of preserving the lives of civilians. The UAE Foreign Ministry urged the international community “to immediately reactivate the international Quartet to revive the path process of Arab-Israeli peace, and increase all efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.”

Qatar: Qatar also expressed concerns over the developments in the Gaza Strip and called for maximum restraint. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that it “holds Israel solely responsible for the ongoing escalation due to its ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, the latest of which was the repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli police.”

Kuwait: Kuwait blamed Israel for what it called its ”blatant attacks”. The foreign ministry called on the international community to “stop the provocative practices by the occupation” and the “policy of expanding settlements”.

Oman: Oman called on Israel and the Palestinians to exercise maximum self-restraint, and asked the international community to “intervene immediately to stop the ongoing escalation and resort to the rules of international law”.

The attack by Hamas came as Saudi Arabia and Israel were getting close to reaching a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations, after UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco normalized ties under the Abraham Accords agreement in 2020.