Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement on October 7, 2023 (Screen grab)
Israel is at war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in his first public statement on the unprecedented large-scale attack that was launched by Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip on October 7.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war, and we will win,” Netanyahu said. “The enemy will pay a price like they have never known before,” he says, in his first public statement on the matter, some five hours since the start of the assault by the Gaza-based terror group.”
Palestinian factions led by the Hamas Movement launched the surprise attack in the early morning. The attack began with a barrage of hundreds of rockets that targeted southern and central Israel. Several groups of Palestinian fighters later infiltrate nearby settlements and military positions from land, sea and air.
The attack, codenamed “Al-Qasa Flood,” came a day after Israel and the Arab world marked the 50th anniversary of the surprise attack by Egypt and Syria that launched the Yom Kippur War.
Netanyahu’s declaration was reaffirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) top spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, who said that Israel was “in a state of war”.
“The IDF has declared a state of war. We are in a state of war,” Hagari says in a live video statement.
Israel’s Health Ministry says 545 people have been hospitalized since the start of the large-scale Palestinian attack. Meanwhile, the Magen David Adom emergency service said that at least 22 people have been killed. The death toll is expected to rise.
Heberew and Arab media reported that more than 50 Israeli soldiers and civilians were captured by Palestinian fighters in the early hours of the attack.
Several settlements and military positions near the Gaza Strip are reportedly still in the nads of Palestinian fighters. Clashes continue there.
In an initial response to the attack, Israel launched a series of strikes against Gaza. The Israeli Air Force said that it had dropped 16 tons of munitions on the strip. 17 military compounds and four headquarters belonging to Hamas were among other targets, according to the IDF.
From its side, Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, released footage showing a deadly raid on an IDF position, several captured Israeli soldiers as well as the destruction of a Merkava Mark IV main battle tank with a drone and the capture of its crew.
The Palestinian large-scale attack drew condemnations from the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union. However, it was praised by Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, key allies of Hamas. Meanwhile, Russia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia called for de-escalation.
The IDF will likely restore control over the Gaza border in the upcoming few hours, then step up strikes on the strip. Heavy Israeli losses could force Netanyahu to order a ground offensive, which will lead to weeks or even months of fighting.
