Hundreds Dead In Attack On Israel; Israeli PM Declares War; Prayers For Israel (Developing Story)
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Palestinian militant group Hamas has launched the biggest attack on Israel in years, killing at least 200 Israelis and wounding over 1,100 more with thousands of rockets and gunfights in Sderot and other cities in the Jewish nation, Israeli sources say.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video that Israel is “at war” and called for a substantial military response following the massive surprise attack launched from the Gaza Strip on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
He spoke as Israel’s army struck the Palestinian exclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in a counter-offensive that Gaza authorities claimed killed more than 230 people and injured about 1,700 others. Israel accused groups like Hamas of placing its weapons between civilians in the Gaza Strip to increase the death toll.
“The Hamas [terrorist organization] has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the State of Israel. IDF troops are fighting against the enemy at every location,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant following a situation assessment as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck back.
Dozens of fighter jets and other aircraft of the IDF targeted 17 military facilities and four operational headquarters of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip, the IDF said.
“We have combat management over the Gaza Division, including support from combat helicopters; we have control there,” the IDF added. “We are conducting blockades with the Israel Police in all regions. There are airstrikes on several targets, such as tunnels, launchers, and fighter jets striking the border. Hundreds of such strikes have been carried out – resulting in many casualties, including numerous terrorists,” the army said.
“The main effort is to eliminate all terrorists on the border and anyone attempting to return to the Gaza Strip. We first engage with aerial fire, followed by heavy ground assets,” the IDF added.
US BACKS ISRAEL
United States President Joe Biden expressed support for Israel, saying he wanted to put Israel’s enemies on notice, adding that American backing is “rock solid and unwavering.” As the war unfolded, Messianic Jews in the United States prayed for Yeshua Hamashiach (‘Jesus the Messiah’) peace in Israel, Worthy News witnessed.
President Biden, a devoted Catholic, said he joined in prayers for the Jewish nation. “Jill and I are keeping in our prayers all of the families who have been hurt by this violence. We are heartbroken by the lives that have been tragically cut short and hope for a swift recovery for all those who have been wounded,” Biden said. “My team and I are tracking this situation closely, and I will remain in close touch with Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
Biden added: “This morning, I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu about the horrific and ongoing attacks in Israel.”
He also said, “The United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza. And I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel.”
Biden stressed that “Terrorism is never justified,” adding that Israel has a right to self-defense. “The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation. My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”
Yet the strength, sophistication, and timing of the Saturday morning attack disrupting the Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, shocked Israelis. It also raised questions about intelligence gathering in a nation long known for having one of the world’s most sophisticated intelligence agencies, the Mossad.
Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the Gaza Strip’s border fence with Israel. They then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders, and speed boats on the coast, according to several sources.
GRUESOME SUFFERING SEEN
In some towns, a trail of civilians’ bodies lay where they had encountered the advancing Palestinian gunmen, witnesses said. On the road outside the town of Sderot, a bloodied woman slumped dead in the seat of her car, reporters said.
At least nine people gunned down at a bus shelter in the town were laid out on stretchers on the street, their bags still on the curb nearby. One woman, screaming, was seen embracing the body of a family member sprawled under a sheet next to a toppled motorcycle. As the woman was led away, she picked up the dead person’s helmet from the ground nearby.
Footage showed an abducted elderly Israeli woman being brought back into Gaza on a golf cart by Hamas gunmen and another woman squeezed between two fighters on a motorcycle. Images also showed fighters parading captured Israeli military vehicles through Gaza streets, according to Associated Press news agency reporters.
The Israeli military said Israeli civilians and soldiers were among those who had been taken captive, though the exact number of hostages remains unclear.
Israeli television said “elderly women with dementia as well as workers from Thailand and the Philippines” were also taken by Hamas.
Posts on social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, appeared to show the Palestinian capture of Israeli military vehicles such as jeeps and tanks.
There was also widespread damage as Hamas claimed it had fired some 5,000 rockets on Saturday.
HAMAS CLAIMS ATTACK
Hamas claimed credit for the attack, saying its military operation against Israel came in defense of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, captured by Israel in 1967.
However, “The Hamas [terrorist organization] has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the State of Israel. IDF troops are fighting against the enemy at every location,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant following a situation assessment, as the IDF struck back with multiple forces.
Dozens of fighter jets and other aircraft of the IDF targeted 17 military facilities and four operational headquarters of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip, the IDF said.
“We have combat management over the Gaza Division, including support from combat helicopters; we have control there,” the IDF added. “We are conducting blockades with the Israel Police in all regions. There are airstrikes on several targets, such as tunnels, launchers, and fighter jets striking the border. Hundreds of such strikes have been carried out – resulting in many casualties, including numerous terrorists.
“The main effort is to eliminate all terrorists on the border and anyone attempting to return to the Gaza Strip. We first engage with aerial fire, followed by heavy ground assets,” the army said.
The government of Iran, which for years has been engaged in a shadow war with Israel and has supported Hamas, cheered the group’s deadly attack on Israel.
“The forceful response of young Palestinians today to the child-murdering Zionist regime showed that it is more vulnerable than ever and the young Palestinians have the upper hand,” said Ali Bahadori Jahromi, the spokesman of Iran’s government.
IRAN HAMAS SUPPORTER
Iran has for decades backed Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and whose own interests in battling Israel align with Iran’s, experts say.
Iranian state-controlled media and social media channels affiliated with the Guards gave minute-by-minute updates of the Hamas operation dubbed ‘Al-Aqsa Storm’ after the mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Analysts suggest that, over the years, Iran provided Hamas with financial and political support, weapons, and technology.
Tehran also arranged training to Hamas build its arsenal of advanced rockets that can reach deep into Israeli territory, according to exists.
There was no immediate sign that Iran had coordinated with Hamas on its most recent attacks. Still, one of Iran’s most senior military commanders said Iran would fully support its operation. “We are confident that all the resistance groups in the region will support this,” said Gen. Yayha Rahim Safavi, the top military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader and a former commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards Corps.
There was concern that other groups, including Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, would join the war against Israel. Other Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, closely monitored the violence and urged an end to hostilities.
In Europe, Austria’s foreign ministry shared on social media platform X that they were flying the Israeli flag on top of their building in solidarity with Israelis suffering under Hamas’ wave of terror attacks.
STANDING IN SOLIDARITY
“We stand in solidarity with our Israeli partners. There is no excuse for terror!” the Ministry wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Also on X, the European Union condemned the attack, with the EU’s executive European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying she “unequivocally” condemns the attack.
She noticed it was “carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel.” Von der Leyen warned: “It is terrorism in its most despicable form. Israel has the right to defend itself against such heinous attacks.”
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed those sentiments. “I strongly condemn the current terrorist attacks against Israel,” Macron wrote initially. “I express my full solidarity with the victims, their families, and loved ones.”
Separately, Macron confirmed that he had “spoken to [Israel’s] President [Isaac] Herzog and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu.” He added: “I condemn the attacks carried out from Gaza on Israel, its soldiers and its people. France stands in solidarity with Israel and the Israelis, committed to their security and their right to defend themselves.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself. “I am shocked by this morning’s attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens,” Sunak wrote on X Saturday at noon.
“Israel has an absolute right to defend itself. We’re in contact with Israeli authorities, and British nationals in Israel should follow travel advice,” he wrote.
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself in a brief statement on X. “Terrifying news reach (sic) us today from Israel. We are deeply shocked by the rocket fire from Gaza and the escalating violence,” Scholz wrote. “Germany condemns these attacks by Hamas and stands by Israel.”
(This is a BREAKING NEWS update on a rapidly developing story. Stay with Worthy News for continued coverage).
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