After Gaza rocket attacks, Israel declares a state of war.
After Palestinian insurgents started a barrage of rocket fire into Israel from the Gaza Strip, Israel proclaimed a state of war. Air raid sirens were audible as Israel’s military said it was bombing targets in the area.
According to the news agency AFP, one woman was murdered as Palestinian militants launched dozens of rockets into southern Israel during an unprecedented infiltration. Israel declared a state of war in response to the incident after multiple infiltrations and rocket assaults from the Gaza Strip. It also urged its citizens to stay inside.
“Several terrorists have infiltrated into Israeli territory,” the Israeli military claimed. As air raid sirens were sounding in Jerusalem, it declared that it was attacking targets in the Gaza Strip, according to news agency AP.
On social media, amateur films purported to show armed individuals inside the Israeli border town of Sderot who appeared to be wearing uniforms. The videos, whose veracity could not be immediately confirmed, contained the sound of gunfire.
During the early-morning barrage, which lasted for more than 30 minutes, sirens could be heard 70 kilometers to the north in Tel Aviv and sounds of launching missiles could be heard in Gaza.
According to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue organization, a rocket that struck a building in southern Israel badly injured a 70-year-old woman. A 20-year-old guy was moderately hurt by rocket shrapnel in another location, it claimed.
THE ‘NEW MILITARY OPERATION’ AGAINST ISRAEL, SAYS HAMAS
Mohammed Deif, the reclusive head of Hamas’ military wing, the group that opposes Israel, announced in a rare public announcement that it had begun a new military offensive against Israel.
According to Mohammed Deif, “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” started early on Saturday with the launch of 5,000 rockets towards Israel. Deif urged all Palestinians to confront Israel, saying, “We’ve decided to say enough is enough.”
Deif, who has survived numerous Israeli murder attempts, avoids the media. His speech was recorded for future listening.
The rocket launches followed weeks of escalating hostilities in the West Bank, which Israel occupies, as well as along its tense border with Gaza.
GAZA ISRAELI BLOCKADE
Israel has kept Gaza under siege ever since Hamas took over the region in 2007. Since since, the fierce rivals have engaged in four conflicts.
There have also been other instances of lesser-scale combat between Israel and smaller militant organizations operating in Gaza, including Hamas.
The Gaza Strip’s economy has been completely destroyed by the embargo, which restricts the flow of people and products into and out of the region. Israel claims that the blockade is necessary to prevent militant organizations from stockpiling weapons. The closure, according to the Palestinians, amounted to collective punishment.
The most recent Palestinian rocket launch occurred amid intense fighting in the West Bank, where Israeli military operations have claimed up to 200 Palestinian lives so far this year. Although stone-throwing protestors and individuals who were not involved in the rioting have also been murdered, Israel claims that the operations are targeting militants. Over 30 individuals have been killed as a result of Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets.
Hamas-affiliated demonstrators have recently staged violent protests along the Israeli border in Gaza, where the tensions have also spread there. After international intervention, those protests were put an end to in late September.
