Tel Aviv: A day after Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel with a barrage of rockets and a large-scale ground assault, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Palestinians in Gaza to “leave now” as the death toll on both sides neared 1,000.
The conflict’s worst escalation in decades has claimed more than 600 lives, including that of a key commander, on the Israeli side, the government press office said, while Gaza officials reported at least 370 deaths, with thousands more wounded on each side.
Thousands of Israeli forces were deployed to battle holdout Hamas fighters in the south and the airforce again pounded targets in the Gaza Strip as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a “long and difficult” war ahead.
“We are embarking on a long and difficult war that was forced on us by a murderous Hamas attack,” Netanyahu said on X, formerly Twitter, early on Sunday.
“I say to the residents of Gaza: Leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere,” he said in another post on X.
Gun battles raged in towns and on highways as the Israeli army sought to secure desert regions near the coastal enclave, rescue Israeli hostages and evacuate all areas near Gaza within 24 hours.
“We’ll reach each and every community until we kill every terrorist in Israel,” vowed military spokesman Daniel Hagari, a day after hundreds of Hamas fighters launched their shock offensive and surged into Israel using vehicles, boats and even motorised paragliders.
As fighting raged on Sunday, Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement said it had fired “large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles” at Israeli positions in a contested border areas “in solidarity” with Hamas, while in Alexandria, two Israeli tourists were shot dead along with their Egyptian guide.
Overnight Israel attacked the Gaza Strip with air strikes as rockets from the blockaded Palestinians territory rained on Israel. In southern Israel, Hamas fighters were still fighting Israeli security forces 24 hours after the surprise attack.
Israeli air strikes hit housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque and homes of Hamas officials in Gaza.Hamas has labelled its attack “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” and called on “resistance fighters in the West Bank” and “Arab and Islamic nations” to join the battle.Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has predicted “victory” and vowed to press ahead with “the battle to liberate our land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons”.
In a statement on X, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that an Israeli commander was among dozens of soldiers killed in fighting.
“The Commander of the Nahal Brigade, COL Jonathan Steinberg was killed today during a confrontation with a terrorist,” it said. (Agencies)
Notes: Images used in the news item have been taken from Reuters
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