Tel Aviv/Gaza, 7 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his fellow citizens on Saturday that the country is at war, after the Palestinian militant organization Hamas fired 2,200 rockets into Israel in what it called a "military operation."

 

"Citizens of Israel, we are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war," Netanyahu told Israelis, saying Hamas had launched "a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens."

 

Netanyahu vowed to "return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.

 

"We are at war and we will win it."

 

So far Israel reported that a 60-year-old woman had been killed and 15 people were injured, but in an ever moving military situation this is likely to change throughout the day.

 

Palestinian militants had infiltrated Israel by land, sea and air, army spokesman Richard Hecht said.

 

Netanyahu, in his statement, said a top security priority was to "clear out the communities that have been infiltrated by terrorists."

 

Israeli soldiers are currently fighting at various locations around the Gaza Strip, Hecht said, including two military bases, the Eres crossing into the Gaza Strip and several towns.

 

Israeli media reported that hostages had been taken, but there was no official confirmation.

 

It was initially unclear how exactly the Palestinian militants were able to enter Israel despite strict border controls. Hecht said that, among other things, gliders had been used. He could not name the number of attackers.

 

"There were not one or two."

 

The massive attacks set off alarms in many Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It came as the country is celebrating the Jewish festival of Simchat Torah, which honours the holy book.

 

Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif said in a message that the group had decided to put an end to Israeli violations, as he called them.

 

Israel's response was the swift shelling of Hamas targets in Gaza, according to eye witnesses.

 

"Hamas committed a grave mistake this morning and started a war against the state of Israel," Israeli Defence Minister Joav Gallant countered. Israeli soldiers were fighting "in all the places where incursions were made." He mobilized the country's reservists and called on citizens to obey the authorities' orders.

 

The Israeli army called its defensive action "Iron Swords."

 

Condemnation and support for Israel came from many governments. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack and called it "terrorism in its most despicable form."

 

"Israel has the right to defend itself against such heinous attacks," she wrote on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

 

European Council President Charles Michel said the European Union "stands in solidarity with Israeli people in this horrific moment," in a post on X.

 

"Terrifying news is reaching us today from Israel," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted on X. "We are deeply shocked by the rocket fire from Gaza and the escalating violence. Germany condemns these Hamas attacks and stands by Israel's side."

 

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, also on X, said "the UK unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians.

 

"The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself," he added.

 

The massive attack from the Gaza Strip came as a surprise. The situation had recently escalated again, especially in the occupied West Bank. Since Thursday, four Palestinians had died in their own attacks or in confrontations with the army.

 

The security situation in Israel and the West Bank has long been tense. Since the beginning of the year, 27 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have been killed in attacks. In the same period, more than 200 Palestinians have died in Israeli military operations, confrontations or after their own attacks.

 

Israel took over the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. The Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state of Palestine with the Arab East Jerusalem as its capital.

 

There have been several violent protests on the Gaza border in the past month. Explosives have been thrown at soldiers and several Palestinians have been injured by gunshots.

 

The Israeli air force has in turn repeatedly attacked posts of the militant Palestinian organisation Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

 

According to the UN, more than 2 million people live in very poor conditions in the Gaza Strip.

 

Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States and Israel, seized power by force in 2007 and controls the overpopulated strip.

 

Photo: EPA