"We are at war," Netanyahu tells nation in special address. Defense Minister Gallant approves military call up. Footage shows Hamas terrorists on motorbikes driving freely on the streets of Israeli towns shouting "God is Great" and firing at residents. Hamas military commander: This is in response to Al-Alqsa Mosque "desecration." The IDF confirmed early Saturday morning that Palestinian terrorists have infiltrated into Israel from the Gaza Strip. It has ordered residents along the border area to remain indoors and warned on Twitter, "We will defend ourselves." It added, "Hamas will pay a heavy price for this provocation." Almost 1500 have been injured, with at least 285 hospitalized in serious condition. The IDF later confirmed that Hamas managed to kidnap Israeli civilians and soldiers in Gaza, hours after social media was inundated with footage showing the Israelis paraded on the streets of the Hamas-run terrorist enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed of the events and was monitoring the situation. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the call-up of many reservists as deemed necessary, with the IDF saying it was elevating its readiness level to "war." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement in which he vowed that "our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known." He added in his special address, "We are at war."
The unprecedented Hamas onslaught began at around 6:30 a.m. with a barrage of rockets into Israel, which according to Hamas amounted to several thousand. Fiver Israeli residents were killed by the rocket fire, which reached as far north as Tel Aviv.
Hamas' leader of its military wing, Mohammed Deif, announced on Gaza television that this was in response to "the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque." He called on other terrorist groups in Lebanon to join the fighting. There was an unconfirmed report that there was one Israeli captive, apparently a soldier, taken into the Gaza Strip. Some of the Hamas terrorists entered by overland routes after breaching the border fence, others by paragliders. "There are quite a few locations in the south where terrorists are still present in the south," the IDF said. As of Saturday noon, there were at least several towns that were controlled by terrorists. As of 5 p.m., there were at least four active situations, with dozens of Israelis taken hostage, including about 50 in a kibbutz's main dining hall and in the city of Sderot, where terrorists have apparently taken over a police station.
As the rocket attacks continued throughout southern and central Israel, millions of Israelis were instructed to stay near bomb shelters in their homes and apartment buildings. The army said residents next to Gaza should stay in their homes due to the "security incident as of Saturday morning, there were several confirmed cases of gunbattle in southern towns. Some Israeli reports said that residents were pleading with IDF to troops to rush to the scene, with footage showing Hamas terrorists on motorbikes driving freely on the streets of Israeli towns shouting "God is Great" and firing at residents.
Israel ordered residents near Gaza to remain indoors as it said a "suspected security incident" along the border had occurred.
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