Unprecedented Hamas Attack Leaves At Least 200 Dead

Topline

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a continued, relentless response to an unprecedented attack from Palestinian militants Saturday that reportedly killed at least 200 people, roiling the region in a level of violence unseen in decades.

A ball of fire and smoke rise from an explosion on a Palestinian apartment tower following an … [+] Israeli air strike in Gaza City.

Key Facts

In a statement Saturday morning, Netanyahu said the “State of Israel has been at war,” later saying in a speech on the scale of the attack “has never been seen in Israel,” while vowing to “take mighty vengeance for this black day,” according to a translation by CNN.

Netanyahu also called on Palestinians to leave Gaza, saying: “Israel will reach every place Hamas is hiding.”

Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif called the attack the “day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,” multiple outlets reported.

Hamas launched “barrages of rockets” into Israel, according to Israel’s Defense Forces, with gunmen crossing a heavily fortified border from Gaza and some of the rockets launched striking as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, its capital, the BBC reported.

In response, Israeli forces launched air strikes into Gaza targeted at Hamas military compounds, killing 232 people and injuring nearly 1,700 multiple outlets reported.

Israel’s Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz said the country will cut its electric supply to Gaza, which receives the bulk of its power from Israel, with some power coming from a power plant in the occupied territory, the BBC reported.

White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson released a statement following the attack, saying the U.S. “unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians,” arguing there is “never any justification for terrorism and that the U.S.—Israel’s longtime ally—stands “firmly” with Israel, its people and its government.

U.S. officials told NBC News intelligence agencies did not anticipate the attack, and that if Israeli officials knew it was coming they did not convey the message to Washington.

Crucial Quote

“We are at war,” Netanyahu said Saturday morning, calling on “all citizens of Israel to unite in order to achieve our highest goal—victory in the war.”

Tangent

Hamas, in its statement taking credit for the attack, referred to the strike as Operation Al-Aqsa Deluge, referencing the historic Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, a holy cite for Jews, Muslims and Christians that was captured by Israel in 1967. Deif said the operation came in defense of the mosque, which was built around the 7th Century during the initial four Islamic caliphates. In recent years, the Old City has been a cause of violence, with Israeli police conducting raids at the ancient mosque in 2021, prompting an 11-day war with Hamas.

Big Number

561. That’s how many people injured in Hamas’ attack were receiving treatment at Israeli hospitals, with 77 of them in critical condition, the Associated Press reported, citing information from hospitals and Israeli statements. The New York Times reported a hospital just north of Gaza received 68 injured people within hours of the attack.

Surprising Fact

The assault also marks a significant day in the conflict, on the 50th Anniversary of the so-called Yom Kippur War, when Arab forces led by allies Egypt and Syria launched an attack on Israel during the Jewish holiday.

Key Background

Israel, which became recognized as an independent state in 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish population as part of the Zion movement following World War II, has held Gaza and the West Bank under military occupation since 1967. Violence between Palestinians and Israeli forces heated up over the past two decades, including in a major Israeli offensive in 2002 in response to a Palestinian suicide bombing during the Jewish holiday of Passover, which killed 30 people. Violence had been escalating in recent years, with the Israeli military in June raiding the West Bank city of Jenin, killing five people and injuring more than 90 others, while a volley of Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank and Gaza last month killed six more Palestinians.