Dozens of gunmen from the Islamist militant group Hamas appear to have infiltrated southern Israel in a surprise attack
At least one Israeli woman has been killed by intense rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Israeli medics say
A senior commander from Hamas said an operation had started, claiming thousands of rockets had been launched
Mohammed Deif said the Palestinian militant group had “decided to say enough is enough”
Explosions have been reported near Tel Aviv and areas surrounding Gaza
The Israeli military says it will defend Israeli civilians and that Hamas will pay a heavy price for its actions
It says it has already begun striking targets in the Gaza strip
Why firing of long-range rockets by Hamas is important
Al Jazeera’s Youmna ElSayed is in Gaza and says the fact that Hamas decided to kick off the attack using long-range rockets is “very significant”.
“We usually see them being fired at the end of an escalation, as was the case in the previous major confrontation in 2021. So this operation is starting in the highest extent,” said ElSayed.
“It is not just a threat or an attack sending warning messages. It is actually a sign that Hamas is carrying out an operation in the widest scale that they could,” she added, noting that other Palestinian factions in Gaza had also joined the battle.
