Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns of a prolonged and challenging war following a significant Hamas attack. Hamas launched its largest surprise attack in decades, prompting Israel to launch massive strikes in Gaza.
The conflict has resulted in at least 500 casualties in both Israel and Gaza, with expectations of further casualties. Many Israelis are questioning how their government and security agencies were caught off guard by this unprecedented and complex assault.
On Saturday morning, Hamas initiated the firing of as much as 3,000 rockets, hitting targets as distant as Tel Aviv and the outskirts of Jerusalem. These areas seldom experience direct hits due to the advanced Iron Dome missile defense system deployed by Israel.
Approximately an hour after the initial rocket attacks, Hamas militants launched incursions into Israel by land, sea, and air, marking some of the first major clashes between Israeli and Arab forces on Israeli territory in decades. These militants infiltrated 22 Israeli towns and military installations, taking civilians and soldiers as hostages, with many transported to Gaza. Officials reported at least 250 Israeli fatalities by late Saturday, along with over 1,400 injuries.
Muhammad Deif, the leader of Hamas’s military wing, announced in a recorded message that the group initiated an “operation” to convey that the era of unchecked actions by the enemy is over. He pointed to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, recent Israeli police actions at the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and the imprisonment of numerous Palestinians in Israeli facilities as motivations for this move. The Aqsa Mosque compound, highly disputed between Muslims (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews (Temple Mount), remains a deeply contentious site in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel is at war and expressed confidence in victory, as he announced the mobilization of military reservists. Tank units have been deployed to the southern region, raising speculation of a potential ground operation in Gaza. Israel reinforced its northern border, while ongoing battles aimed to expel militants from communities infiltrated in the south.
Israeli airstrikes targeted Gaza, destroying facilities housing Hamas militants, though Palestinian officials reported hits on a hospital, multi-story buildings, homes, and a mosque. As of Sunday morning, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported at least 313 Palestinians killed and 1,990 injured, with the majority inside Gaza and the rest in Israel.
Gaza has faced a stringent Israeli blockade, supported by Egypt, since Hamas took control of the coastal strip in 2007. This blockade restricts the import of various goods, including electronics and computers that could be used for weaponry, and severely limits the movement of people out of the territory.
The enduring and lethal Israeli-Palestinian conflict has endured for over two centuries. It has witnessed numerous outbreaks of violence, such as the May 2021 Israeli police raid on Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a trigger for an 11-day war with Hamas, resulting in thousands of casualties.
Conflict often erupts due to Israel’s actions targeting militant leaders or reacting to protests, while at other times, violence originates from attacks by groups like Hamas. In this instance, no clear catalyst is evident, leaving Israel’s intelligence and government seemingly caught off guard.
The assault’s timing was significant, striking Israel during a challenging period. It followed months of concerns about Israeli societal unity and military preparedness, stemming from the far-right government’s attempts to weaken the judiciary.
Furthermore, these attacks occurred on the holiday of Simchat Torah and nearly 50 years after Israel’s unpreparedness during the start of the Yom Kippur War, when invading forces from Egypt and Syria caught Israeli authorities off-guard.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the completion of the “first phase” of Israel’s response, claiming success in repelling most Hamas militants from its territory. Despite speculation of a potential large-scale ground invasion of Gaza, he vowed to continue the offensive without hesitation.
President Biden and other world leaders expressed condemnation of Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, affirming their support for Israel’s right to self-defense. Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, called for de-escalation without directly blaming Hamas.
This conflict also poses a threat to President Biden’s ongoing efforts to encourage Saudi Arabia to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel, its historical adversary. Saudi Arabia has never formally recognized the Jewish state in solidarity with the Palestinians but had shown signs of readiness to change its stance.
The ongoing conflict also has the potential to escalate into a broader regional crisis involving Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant organization that previously engaged in a war with Israel in 2006. Responding to a call from Hamas, which governs Gaza, for Lebanese armed groups to support its attacks on Israel, Hezbollah expressed keen interest in the evolving Palestinian situation.
On Sunday, United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon reported that the situation along the Lebanese-Israeli border was “volatile but stable” following an exchange of artillery and rocket fire between Hezbollah and Israel earlier in the day.
(Source: Arwa Ibrahim | Dalia Hatuga | Usaid Siddiqui | Al Jazeera | Andrés R. Martínez | Emma Bubola | New York Times)
