Hamas Launches Surprise Attack on Israel, Escalating Tensions in Israel-Palestine

Israel and Hamas appear to be heading to war once again after the Palestinian militant group launched another massive aerial and ground operation from the blockaded Gaza Strip, which is its biggest attack in several years.

The sudden attack!

The ruling Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip carried out a fully unprecedented and multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday. They started firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea catching the country off-guard on a major holiday. Six hours after the invasion began, Hamas militants were still fighting gunbattle.

Over 5,000 rockets had flown in the sky towards Israel as loud sirens blared across the country on this festive holiday morning. The country’s defense forces also alleged an infiltration by Hamas militants, whom they considered as terrorists. Paragliders were used in the attack and cars passing by also were fired at on the roads, according to visuals from Israel.

War has begun!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address that, “We are at war, Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”… “The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he added, promising that Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said “Hamas has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the State of Israel. IDF troops (Israeli army) are fighting against the enemy at every location,”

The Islamic Jihad, which is another faction in Gaza, said in a statement on Telegram several hours later that they had joined the fighting. There are fears of a regional conflagration if the violence spreads to the occupied West Bank, which is on lockdown, to the northern front with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, or intra-communal violence on the streets of Israel, as seen in 2021.