A surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, which involved gunmen sneaking past security barriers and a volley of rockets fired from Gaza, took place at dawn on Saturday during the high Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, and Reuters reports the film of the events.
The Islamist movement Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in recent yearsPhoto: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The attack came 50 years and a day after Egyptian and Syrian forces launched an assault during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in an attempt to retake territories Israel seized during a brief conflict in 1967.
Here’s how it all went down:
Missile firing
Around 06:30, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a huge barrage of rockets in southern Israel, sirens being heard as far as Tel Aviv and Beersheba. Hamas said it fired 5,000 rockets in a first volley, the Israeli military said 2,500 rockets were fired.
Smoke billowed over Israeli residential areas and people took cover behind buildings as sirens blared overhead. At least one woman would have been killed by the rockets.
Infiltrating at dawn
The rocket fire served as cover for an unprecedented infiltration of fighters on several fronts, with the Israeli army announcing at 07:40 that Palestinian gunmen had crossed into Israel.
Most of the fighters came through breaches in the ground security barriers that separate Gaza from Israel. But at least one was filmed crossing with a motorized parachute, while a speedboat was filmed heading towards Zikim, a coastal town and Israeli military base.
Videos released by Hamas showed fighters breaching security fences, and the dim light and low sun suggest it was around the time the rocket fire took place.
A video footage showed at least six motorbikes with fighters driving through a hole in a metal security barrier.
A photo released by Hamas shows a bulldozer tearing down a section of the security fence.
Fighting at Israeli military bases
The Israeli army announced at 10:00 a.m. that Palestinian fighters had penetrated at least three military installations around the border – the Erez border crossing, the Zikim base and the headquarters of the Gaza division at Reim. She stated that the fighting in Erez and Zikim continued.
Hamas videos show fighters running toward a burning building next to a tall concrete wall with a watchtower and fighters apparently overrunning part of an Israeli military installation and firing from behind a wall.
Several captured Israeli military vehicles were later photographed being driven into Gaza and paraded there.
Raids in border towns
Fighters raided the Israeli border town of Sderot and were reported to be in another border community, Be’eri, and in the town of Ofakim, 30 km east of Gaza, according to Israeli media citing phone calls from residents. .
A video verified by Reuters showed several armed men in the back seat of a white van driving through Sderot.
Many residents of towns in southern Israel have fortified areas of their homes that function as air raid shelters, and were using them as panic rooms on Saturday.
The Israeli army ordered residents to shelter inside, saying on the radio: “We will get to you.”
By mid-morning, Israeli police chief Yaacov Shabtai said law enforcement was involved in gunfire in 21 localities, and at 1:30 p.m., the army said troops were still working to free communities that had been overrun. by attackers.
casualty
A Reuters photographer saw bodies on the streets of Sderot. Israeli media reported at least 100 Israelis killed and 800 wounded.
Hamas videos and unverified images circulating on social media showed dead civilians, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Hamas attackers went from house to house, killing civilians.
Taking hostages
Israeli media reported that gunmen took hostages in Ofakim. Islamic Jihad said it was holding several Israeli soldiers captive, and Hamas’ social media accounts showed images that appeared to show prisoners being taken alive to Gaza.
A video showed three young men in vests, shorts and slippers being led through a security facility with Hebrew writing on the wall. Other videos showed captive women.
Another showed fighters dragging at least two Israeli soldiers from a military vehicle.
Israeli attacks
At 09:45, explosions were heard in the center of Gaza and in Gaza City, and at 10:00, the spokesman of the Israeli army declared that the air force was launching attacks on Gaza. Doctors in Gaza said dozens of people were killed in the attacks. (Source: News.ro)
