Hamas attacks, Netanyahu says country at war – DW – 10/07/2023

Gaza’s Health Ministry said that at least 198 people had been killed and a further 1,610 were “wounded with different injuries” following Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian enclave.

The strikes were a response by Israel to the surprise assault on Israel by Hamas militants.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said their “enemy will pay a price like they have never known before.”

Observers have been wondering whether Israeli forces will launch a ground invasion against Gaza or whether the response will be limited to strikes.

Political analyst Guido Steinberg said that the result of any military response from Israel will be that “lots of civilians will be killed.”

“If the first reports about Hamas fighters taking hostages, alive or dead, are correct, then we should expect some kind of ground incursion by Israeli forces, and in this case probably a war that will last a little bit longer than the recent ones,” he told DW.

The United States underlined its full support for Israel following the rocket strikes and incursion by Hamas militants in Israeli border towns on Saturday.

“Our commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself remains unwavering,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

He added that the Pentagon would work “to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism.”

The White House mirrored Austin’s comments, with National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson saying: “The United States unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians. There is never any justification for terrorism.”

“We stand firmly with the government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has spoken to Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and we remain in close contact with our Israeli partners,” Watson added.

Israel’s ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor said that he believed Iran to be behind the surprise assault that Hamas militants launched against Israel on Saturday.

“It is clear to us that Iran is behind this,” he told German public radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, saying that Tehran has been trying to stir up conflict throughout the region.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has celebrated the unprecedented attack.

“Today’s operation by the Palestinian resistance movement is a turning point in the continuation of the armed resistance of the Palestinian people against the Zionists,” ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told state-run news agency ISNA.

Prosor said that Israel will respond to those it considers responsible.

“We will do everything not only to defend ourselves, but also to punish all those who are responsible,” he said.

He added that Israeli forces have been fighting to take back control of towns close to the border with Gaza. “Rockets are flying without pause, homes are burning and civilians are being taken hostage.”

Israel’s Magen David Amon ambulance service said the number of people killed in the country following the attack by Hamas militants had increased to at least 40, with another 779 people injured and receiving treatment in hospital.

“Since the morning hours, MDA teams provided medical care to hundreds of casualties, and pronounced 40 people dead,” they said.

The death toll resulting from Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Gaza remained unclear, but reporters from the French news agency AFP said they had tallied at least nine deaths.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, has responded to reports that Israeli citizens were taken hostage during Saturday’s attack.

“News of civilians taken as hostages in their homes or to Gaza are appalling,” he wrote on social media.

“This is against international law. Hostages must be released immediately,” he added.

Israeli media has said Palestinian militants have taken civilians captive in several towns, and in some cases taken them back to Gaza. The reports could not be immediately verified.

DW correspondent Rebecca Ritters reported on Saturday’s surprise Hamas attack against Israel from Jerusalem.

The number of people killed by the Hamas assault, which included rocket attacks and a ground incursion, has reached at least 22, Israel’s ambulance service said.

“As of 13:00 (1000 GMT), Magen David Adom teams have pronounced 22 victims deceased. They have also treated hundreds of further victims,” the ambulance service said.

The toll is expected to rise. Another 250 people have reportedly been wounded.

Reports from local and social media said Palestinian militants had reached the southern Israeli border town of Sderot and taken several people hostage.

Israeli media have reported that militants shot indiscriminately at passersby in the town.

The Israeli military said it was aware of the reports of hostages being taken, but gave no details.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has condemned the surprise attack against Israel carried out by Hamas militants, and said Germany stood with Israel.

“Shocking news coming to us from Israel,” he wrote on social media. “The rocket attacks from Gaza and the escalating violence deeply trouble us.”

“Germany condemns these Hamas attacks and stands by Israel’s side,” he added.

The Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon, Hezbollah, celebrated the surprise Hamas attack on Saturday morning, saying Hamas had “divine backing” to respond to “Israel’s crimes.”

Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist organization by Germany, the US and numerous Arab states.

The group — which gained notoriety for fighting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon — said it was in “direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance.”

Hezbollah added that the assault was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalization with Israel.”

EU Council President Charles Michel and European Parliament President Ursula von der Leyen have both expressed their support for Israel in the face of attacks by militants from Gaza.

Michel condemned “the indiscriminate attacks launched against Israel and its people this morning inflicting terror and violence against innocent citizens,” in a social media post.

“My thoughts are with all the victims,” he added. “EU stands in solidarity with Israeli people in this horrific moment.”

His message was mirrored by von der Leyen who said: “I unequivocally condemn the attack carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel.”

“It is terrorism in its most despicable form. Israel has the right to defend itself against such heinous attacks.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the large-scale Hamas attack on Saturday by telling the people of Israel that “we are at war.”

“And we will win,” he added, making a video address from military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Speaking for the first time on the incident some five hours after the first rockets were launched from Gaza, Netanyahu said “The enemy will pay a price like they have never known before.”

The Israeli military said militants from Gaza had “infiltrated” Israel via land, air and sea by using paragliders.

“It was a combined ground raid which happened through paragliders, through the sea and through the ground,” army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.

“Right now we’re fighting. We’re fighting in certain locations around the Gaza Strip […] our forces are now fighting on the ground” in Israel, he added.

Thousands of Israeli reservists have been called up to support Israel’s response to the attack while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had launched a “large-scale operation to defend Israeli citizens,” called Operation Swords of Iron.

Germany responded to the assault on Israeli territory on Saturday by expressing its full support for Israel’s right to defend itself.

“I condemn the terrorist attacks from Gaza against Israel in the strongest possible terms. Violence and rockets against innocent people must stop now. We stand in full solidarity with Israel and its right under international law to defend itself against terror,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on social media.

Israel launched a series of airstrikes against targets in the Gaza Strip following the initial surprise assault by Hamas.

“Dozens of [Israel Defense Force] fighter jets are currently striking a number of targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli military said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Palestinian militant group Hamas has “launched a war against the State of Israel.” 

“Troops are fighting against the enemy at every location,” he added.

Violence between Israel and Palestinian militants has been on the rise in the past few years with attacks and clampdowns being carried out in Gaza, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.