Who are Hamas militants? All you need to know as Israel declares war on the Palestinian group after surprise attack
As per sources like NDTV, on October 7, Israel came under surprise air, land, and sea attack from Gaza's terrorist Hamas leadership. The piercing sound of approaching rockets and the inevitable thud of impact awakened millions of Israelis in the southern part of the country. As far north as Tel Aviv, air raid sirens were audible. Furthermore, Jerusalem was thundered by Israel's anti-rocket interceptors.
The Palestinian militant group launched "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" against Israel, the most severe escalation since their 11-day conflict in 2021. Al Jazeera reported that at 6:30 a.m. local time, the first salvo of rockets was fired.
Simchat Torah, a holiday that falls towards the end of the seven-day Jewish celebration known as Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, was the occasion of the early-morning attacks.
Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya is a violent, fundamentalist, and nationalist Sunni-Islamic group in Palestine. It is one of the two main political parties in the Palestinian territory.
However, the organization is most renowned for its military struggle against Israel. It oversees more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Also, the group has been classified as a terrorist organization by several nations, like Israel, Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States.
Hamas militants are a terrorist organization in Palestine
The militant organization is in charge of the densely populated coastal Palestinian region known as the Gaza Strip. Israel and the group have fought each other in a number of conflicts of varied scales.
In the past, the military wing has carried out assaults against Israeli citizens and troops, frequently claiming that they were in revenge, especially for the assassinations of the organization's top leadership. Suicide bombings and rocket strikes since 2001 have been used as tactics.
Attacks on Israeli cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa, as well as towns like Beer Sheva and Ashdod, have also been carried out with Grad-type missiles, short-range handmade Qassam rockets with a 16-kilometer range, and longer-range rockets.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to have its emotional center at the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is revered by both Muslims and Jews. According to the Associated Press, the group's officials have blamed this long tension between Israel and the Palestinians, which occurred due to the conflict regarding the mosque, for this attack.
On Saturday, October 7, armed members of the Palestine group terrorized locals and exchanged fire with Israeli forces in this unprecedented escalation, destroying portions of Israel's heavily constructed separation fence and marching into Israeli villages along the Gaza border.
Additionally, they dispatched troops into southern Israel. Gunmen reportedly opened fire on onlookers in the town of Sderot. According to Al Jazeera, the militant fighters had taken over several Israeli civilian population centers, where people were pleading with their government for assistance.
“We are at war”- Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while addressing the country’s citizens after the Hamas attack
The Palestinian organization from the Gaza Strip, Hamas, attacked Israel on Saturday involving aerial, maritime, and ground operations. To this, Israel's answer has been a fatal bombardment of the seaside outpost that is under Blockade.
Following the horrifying incident, Israel declared war against the group, vowing to avenge the fierce attack. As per The Wire, the Israeli army warned Israelis who live near Gaza to stay in their homes or head to shelters. According to NDTV, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country is at war and the Palestine group will pay an unprecedented price.
"Citizens of Israel, we are at war. This is not an operation, not an escalation - this is war. And we will win. Hamas will pay an unprecedented price," he said in a video message.
In order to strengthen the armed forces, he added that reservists would be called up.
“The enemy will pay a price it has never known before," he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on the other side, said in an Instagram video that:
"Today we saw the face of evil. The Hamas [terrorist organization] has launched a brutal attack against the citizens of the State of Israel - attacking men, women, children and the elderly, indiscriminately. Hamas will understand very quickly that it has made a mistake - a grave mistake, and will pay a [heavy] price"
Al Jazeera also reported that at least 232 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,000 were injured in Gaza, according to medical sources. According to the health ministry and Israel's National Emergency Medical Service, Hamas strikes have resulted in at least 200 Israeli deaths and 750 injuries.
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