Tel Aviv, 7 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - At least 40 people have been killed in Saturday's large-scale attacks on Israel, the Magen David Adom rescue service has announced.

Earlier, the emergency services reported that at least 22 people had been killed by gunfire. One woman died in a direct hit on a building near the town of Gedera.

The Palestinian militant organization Hamas fired 2,200 rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, in what it described as a "military operation."

Media reported that numerous Palestinian militants also managed to cross the heavily protected border with Israel.

Israel has responded by declaring a state of war. Dozens of Israeli fighter jets have targeted military installations in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 22 people according to a source at the Health Ministry.