Israel warns of ‘long, difficult war’ vs. Hamas
Jerusalem, Undefined—Israeli forces battled holdout Hamas fighters and pounded targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a “long and difficult” war ahead after the Palestinian militants launched a massive surprise attack.
The Hamas attack came half a century after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, stunning Israel and sparking bitter recriminations inside the country on what was widely seen as an enormous intelligence failure.
Gun fights raged in towns and on highways as the Israeli army deployed tens of thousands of forces to secure southern desert regions near the coastal enclave, aiming to rescue Israeli hostages and then evacuate the entire region within 24 hours.
“We’ll reach each and every community till we kill every terrorist in Israel,” vowed military spokesman Daniel Hagari, a day after hundreds of Hamas fighters crossed into Israel using vehicles, boats and even motorized paragliders.
“Our mission for the upcoming 24 hours is to evacuate all residents” from areas around the Gaza Strip, he told journalists amid the fighting that has left hundreds dead on both sides.
Israel also came under attack from the north on Sunday when Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched guided missiles and artillery shells “in solidarity” with the unprecedented Hamas offensive, without causing any casualties.
Israel was shocked when Gaza’s ruling Islamist movement launched their multi-pronged shock offensive at dawn Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, with thousands of rockets and ground, air and sea forces, attacking and infiltrating Israeli towns and kibbutz communities and storming what media reported was an outdoor rave party.
Panicked Israelis phoned media outlets as they hid out in their homes from militants going door to door and shooting civilians or dragging them away.
The worst fighting in decades has killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded over 1,000, leaving bodies of civilians strewn on roads, while on the Gaza side at least 313 have died and over 1,700 were reported wounded.
An unknown number of Israelis were abducted as hostages, sparking dismay in Israel and massively complicating its military retaliation campaign.
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