Israel has declared war for the first time since 1973 after Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group, launched rockets from Gaza into Israel early Saturday.
The Israel National Security Council approved a state of war under Article 40 of the Basic Government Law, considering the war to have begun at 6 a.m. on Saturday. The declaration of war will allow the government to carry out “significant military activities,” according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via Al Jazeera.
BIDEN BLASTS ‘APPALLING ASSAULT’ AGAINST ISRAEL BY HAMAS ‘TERRORISTS’
Netanyahu had announced the country was at war in a video posted Saturday, but Sunday’s actions by the National Security Council made the war official.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war. Not in an operation or in rounds, but at war,” Netanyahu said Saturday.
“The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” the Israeli prime minister added, promising that Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”
This is the latest escalation of the ongoing tensions between Palestine and Israel, and this is the first time that Israel has declared the nation is at war since the Yom Kippur War, also called the Fourth Arab-Israeli War.
The Israel Health Ministry said Sunday via ABC News that at least 600 are dead and 2,000 are injured in Israel. At least 313 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and at least 1,990 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a Sunday update. Israel’s Embassy to the United States reported that over 100 soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped in Gaza, according to the Jerusalem Post.
At least 260 bodies were discovered at a music festival site just outside Re’im, Israel, according to Zaka, the Israeli rescue service via CNN. The outdoor Nova Festival was supposed to be an all-night dance party celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Several attendees of the Nova Festival were also taken hostage by Hamas militants, and the festival’s organizers are helping Israeli security forces in locating missing attendees, according to CNN. Videos circulating showed dozens of bodies located on the festival grounds and some bounded by cable ties, a typical tactic used by Hamas fighters.
In a surprise attack early Saturday, Palestinian militants fired at least 2,200 rockets toward Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces said. Hamas claimed at least 5,000 rockets were fired, all landing in southern and central Israel.
“Hamas’ brutal attack is a war crime,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement posted Sunday.
“Taking women and children captive violates international law and goes against Islam. Whoever took part will pay the price. The war is difficult and challenging days lie ahead. The IDF is strong and will use every bit of of its strength and power.”
An operational update from IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari: pic.twitter.com/2QNm29UYZ7
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 8, 2023
The IDF carried out airstrikes on Hamas terrorist targets in Gaza that were used to attack Israel, the organization announced Sunday.
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United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there were likely to be additional details on new military assistance for Israel from the U.S. later on Sunday.
“We’re looking at specific additional requests that the Israelis have made — I think you’re likely to hear more about that later today,” Blinken told Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
