RAMALLAH: At least 232 people were killed in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza on Sunday as Israel carried out retaliatory strikes following the Hamas rocket fire and the unprecedented ground assault in the Middle Eastern country, Al Jazeera reported.
Following a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, Hamas fighters launched the biggest offensive on Israel in years on Saturday, penetrating areas in the south of the nation.
According to Israel’s national rescue service, the attack was the bloodiest in years, with the death toll soaring past 300.
Additionally, an undermined number of Israeli citizens and military personnel were apprehended and brought into Gaza. Late on Saturday, both Israel and Hamas claimed that gunfights were ongoing at numerous locations within Israeli territory, according to Al Jazeera.
The attack, which began at 6.30 am local time (03:30 GMT) on Saturday involved Hamas fighters, who infiltrated Israel by land, sea, and air.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hamas it made a “grave mistake” in carrying out the rocket attacks and ground assault.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message from military headquarters in Tel Aviv after the attacks broke out.
Israel’s military launched a series of air raids on Gaza in response to the attacks.
Senior Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif declared that the rocket launch was the beginning of “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”, urging Palestinians all over the world to resist Israeli occupation.
Hamas would pay a “heavy price for its actions”, the Israeli military told citizens living near the Gaza Strip, ordering them to remain inside their houses.
Notably, Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, referred to Saturday’s attack on Israel as an effort “in defence of the Al-Aqsa Mosque”, a disputed religious site significant to both Muslims and Jews. (ANI)