Proud Palestinian father hoists aloft his young daughter as she holds a machine gun and women ‘celebrate IDF soldier’s death’ while Israeli families mourn as death toll in new Hamas war tops 200
- Young girl held by cheering Palestinians after 40 Israelis die in Hamas attack
- Israel PM vows militants ‘will pay’ as 779 are injured in air strikes and gun battles
- Palestinian officials say Israeli counter-strikes have killed 198 and injured 1,610
Palestinians have been seen celebrating after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing at least 40 people – with one proud father hoisting his child onto his shoulders as she waves an assault rifle and a handgun.
In a video believed to have been filmed in the West Bank, men can be heard singing and waving assault rifles in the air as the young girl holds an assault rifle in her left hand and a pistol in her right.
Another video shows Gazan women in headscarves hoisting a rifle over their heads and yelling; unconfirmed reports suggest the gun was seized from a dead Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldier.
In Israel, grim pictures have emerged of civilians crying over the bodies of their loved ones as the country said 40 Israelis had been killed and another 779 had been injured in Hamas airstrikes and gun attacks on Saturday.
Photographs too graphic to publish show the lifeless bodies of Israelis at roadsides and under bus shelters, the walls and ground painted red with their blood.
A young Palestinian girl holds an assault rifle aloft as she is carried on a man’s shoulders following attacks on Israel carried out by Hamas militans
The girl also appears to hold a handgun in her other hand in the video, believed to have been filmed in the West Bank
A woman holds an assault rifle aloft in footage believed to have also been filmed in the West Bank. Unconfirmed reports suggested the gun was seized from a killed Israeli soldier
The woman has to readjust her face covering in the excitement of waving the rifle around
A family, including a tearful girl, is evacuated after a rocket attack in southern Israel on Saturday
An Israeli woman cries over the body of a motorcyclist – understood to be a relative – who was killed by Palestinian armed militants in Sderot, near the Gaza border, on Saturday
An Israeli soldier stands over the bodies of civilians who were killed by Palestinian militants
An injured Israeli soldier is brought into Tel Aviv’s Surasky Medical Centre following an attack by Palestinian militants on Saturday
Israeli medical teams evacuate an injured person from the southern city of Sderot, close to the border with the Gaza Strip
READ MORE: Who are Hamas? Everything you need to know about Iran-backed terror movement that has launched war on Israel
Other images show the bodies of Israeli civilians spilling out of cars after being shot by militants who travelled by land, sea and air to breach the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Saturday.
The combination of air strikes and on-the-ground actions have killed at least 40 Israelis, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service; Israel’s health ministry said 779 others had been injured and taken to hospital.
Palestinian officials say that retaliatory strikes carried out by Israel following the Hamas assault have killed 198 people and injured close to 1,610 others.
Hamas said the attack was driven by what it said were Israel’s escalated attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and against Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
Its military commander Mohammed Deif announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
‘This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,’ he said, adding that a claimed 5,000 rockets had been launched.
Videos on social media appeared to show armed troops from the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ militant arm, moving through built-up areas firing weapons as Israeli residents were evacuated from their homes following air strikes.
Hamas is said to have captured Israeli troops and civilians alike, with images and videos shared on social media showing soldiers being pulled out of tanks and people in civilian clothing being marched away by men armed with rifles.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Palestinian militants will pay an ‘unprecedented price’ after the attacks; Palestinian officials claim 198 people have been killed in retaliatory strikes by Israel.
Speaking in a televised address, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said that Hamas had made a ‘grave mistake (launching) a war against the State of Israel’ – vowing that ‘Israel will win’.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was ‘shocked’ by the attacks, writing on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Israel has an absolute right to defend itself. We’re in contact with Israeli authorities, and British nationals in Israel should follow travel advice.’
Brits have also been caught up in the biggest armed conflict Israel has seen in years following the surprise action by Hamas’ militia division, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Former Happy Mondays tour manager Anthony Murray, from Manchester, has described how he thought he was ‘going to die’ as he fled to a bunker following air raid alerts in Tel Aviv earlier today.
Palestinian people dance at a refugee camp in Beirut as they celebrate the Hamas incursion in Israel, which has killed more than 200 people in total
Among those celebrating at the Beirut camp was a young boy wearing militia-style fatigues, carrying a handgun
A woman and child are evacuated from the site of a rocket attack in southern Israel on Saturday
A body draped in a sheet lies inside a bullet-riddled car in Sderot, Israel, after Hamas militants breached the border to stage an armed incursion on Saturday
An injured man is carried on a stretcher by members of the Israeli security forces following air strikes in southern Israel
Rockets have struck buildings across southern Israel – and militants are reported to have taken to the streets after ‘infiltrating’ the country
Smoke billows from a building in Gaza after Israel fired missiles in response to Palestinian air strikes earlier on Saturday
Hamas fighters circumvented Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip by flying in via paraglider, according to the Israeli military (pictured: an alleged paraglider crossing into Israel)
Palestinians celebrate after an Israeli tank was hit by Hamas gunmen who infiltrated the south of the country, on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border
A woman stands in a damaged room in Ashkelon, Israel after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants
A Jewish man wearing a tallit – a type of prayer shawl – looks out from a building after a rocket attack in Ashkelon, Israel on Saturday
Hamas claimed to have fired 5,000 rockets into Israel from the occupied Gaza Strip, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
Israeli residents take shelter in the basement of a building after the Palestinian incursion into the country began early on Saturday
Images issued by Hamas’ militant arm, the Al-Qassam Brigades, show what it claims are Palestinian fighters infiltrating southern Israel and motorcycles riding through a hole in the Gaza border fence
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told citizens of the country that it is ‘at war’ with Hamas militants
Israeli forces have vowed that Hamas will ‘face the consequences and responsibility for these events’.
It has been striking targets in Gaza and deployed countermeasures to repel further air attacks – prompting further rocket launches from inside the blockaded territory.
Later on Saturday Israeli navy chiefs said they had killed ‘dozens’ of Hamas militants who had sought to enter the country by sea; Palestinian gunmen also breached border fences and even used paragliders to enter the country from the air.
In a filmed statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the incursion was a ‘murderous surprise attack’, adding: ‘We are at war, not an operation, not rounds, but at war.’
Mr Netanyahu said that security forces were ‘clearing villages’ of Palestinian militants, and that reservists have been called up to ‘return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known’, vowing that Hamas would ‘pay an unprecedented price’.
He added: ‘In the meantime, I call on all citizens of Israel to strictly obey the instructions of the army and the instructions of the Home Command. We are in a war and we will win it.’
A video released by Hamas, captioned ‘Scenes of the Qassam Brigades capturing a number of enemy soldiers’, appeared to show three people in civilian clothing being detained by Palestinian militants.
The Israeli military declined to give details about casualties or kidnappings as it continued to battle the infiltrators.
But Israeli media reports, cited by Reuters, say that up to 50 people have been taken hostage by Hamas gunmen in Be’eri, a kibbutz (a type of Israeli community) near the Gaza border.
In another kibbutz, Kfar Aza, elderly residents have been forced into Palestinian territories by militants riding golf carts and motorcycles.
Israeli and Palestinian citizens have been fleeing homes close to the border as both sides stepped up air strikes and engaged in gun battles throughout the day.
Hundreds of residents in the Gaza Strip fled their homes to move away from the border with Israel after the counter-attacks began, The AFP news agency reported. that hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children were seen carrying blankets and food items as they left their homes.
One local close to the border told Israeli news website Ynet: ‘We are under attack, and no one is coming to help us. For more than an hour and a half there has been non-stop shooting. They are slaughtering us here, there is no army.’
Palestinians are seen celebrating in the Gaza Strip after Hamas gunmen infiltrated areas of southern Israel and rocket barrages were fired into the country on Saturday
A man carries a crying child as they walk past a building destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City
People flee as clashes flare between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces in Gaza City following the earlier air strikes
A destroyed building in Gaza City after Israel began firing counter-missiles into the occupied territory following the incursion by Palestinian militant group Hamas
Palestinians are greeted by crowds after returning from crossing the border into Israel
A member of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades – its militant wing – holds a Palestinian flag atop a destroyed Israeli tank
Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel (pictured far right) chairs a security meeting in Tel Aviv following the start of the Hamas attacks
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak says Israel has an ‘absolute right to defend itself’ after Hamas militants launched attacks from the Gaza Strip
Images have circulated on social media showing what appear to be violent scenes across both Israel and Gaza.
One video, reported by the AP news agency, appeared to show the lifeless body of an Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldier being trampled in Gaza by an angry crowd shouting ‘God is great’.
A further clip, the contents of which have not been verified, appears to show Palestinian militants shouting ‘God is great’ as they parade the bloodied and naked body of a female Israeli woman through the streets in the back of a pickup truck.
Other footage appeared to show militants dragging away an Israeli soldier on a motorcycle.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service claimed that its medics had been fired on by Hamas militants, one of whom was seriously injured.
The sound of outgoing rockets whooshing through the air could be heard in Gaza and sirens wailed as far away as Tel Aviv, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) to the north, during the early morning barrage that lasted more than 30 minutes.
Cities and towns in southern Israel emptied as the military closed roads near Gaza and millions of Israelis scrambled to bombs shelters while air raid sirens wailed overhead.
In the community of Nahal Oz, just 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Gaza Strip, terrified residents who were huddled indoors said they could hear constant gunfire echoing off the buildings.
‘With rockets we somehow feel safer, knowing that we have the Iron Dome (missile defense system) and our safe rooms,’ Mirjam Reijnen, a 42-year-old volunteer firefighter in the town told the AP news agency.
‘But knowing that terrorists are walking around communities is a different kind of fear,’ she added, saying that she and her three children have been too scared to leave the shelter even for a moment to use the bathroom.
Images from within the blockaded Gaza territory, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, showed Palestinians celebrating in the streets.
Palestinians could also be seen climbing on top of a burning Israeli tank that was hit at the border with the Gaza Strip, and posing for selfies.
Men believed to be Palestinian militants are seen riding an Israeli military vehicle after reportedly seizing it close to the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip
Palestinians ride what is believed to be an Israeli military off-road vehicle following the storming of border settlements by Hamas militants
A Palestinian gunman holds his weapon aloft after infiltrating the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border fence, which is heavily fortified
A car burns after a rocket attack in southern Israel on Saturday. Hamas claimed to have fired 5,000 rockets into the country
Two women – one of whom appears to be carrying an assault rifle – look on after rockets were launched into Ashkelon in Israel
Israeli medics and security forces treat a man who was injured at the site of a rocket attack
Israeli security forces take cover during a rocket attack siren warning as rockets are fired from the Gaza strip into Ashkelon
Israeli soldiers head south near the city of Ashkelon in southern Israel after Hamas militants infiltrated the country on Saturday
Israeli soldiers on a main road in central Israel after Hamas instigated an incursion into the country
Israeli soldiers and security officials in Tel Aviv, as the office of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was set to convene a meeting with officials
Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldiers closed roads in the Sderot area, around a mile from the blockaded Gaza territory, following the attacks
Streams of rockets are fired by Palestinians in response to Israeli counter-strikes on Saturday
Rockets are fired from Gaza City towards Israel early on Saturday as Hamas declared that it had begun a new offensive against the country
A rocket is launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel by Hamas militants on Saturday – in a surprise attack that is thought to have caught the country off-guard
Burnt out vehicles lie wrecked in the streets of Ashkelon, a few miles north of the Gaza Strip
A rescue worker from the Magen David Adom disaster relief service looks on as cars burn at the site of a rocket attack in Ashkelon, southern Israel
A Palestinian medic inspects the remains of an ambulance hit by an Israeli air strike in retaliation for a surprise incursion by Hamas on Saturday
A firefighter inspects a building in Rishon LeZion – a city just a few miles south of Tel Aviv – after a rocket attack by Palestinian militants
Israel’s military claims that 2,500 rockets were fired by Palestinian militants, half the amount alleged by Hamas – and said troops had ‘infiltrated’ the country via sea and ground as well as by air, using paragliders.
They said in a statement: ‘The military declares a state of war alert. In the last hour, the Hamas terrorist organization had begun a massive shooting of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, and terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory in a number of different locations.’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose right-wing government took command in 2022 after he was ousted the year before, met with security chiefs met to discuss the attack.
Following the meeting, Israel defence minister Yoav Gallant said that Hamas had started a ‘war’ against the country.
‘Hamas has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the State of Israel,’ he said, adding that ‘Israel will win’.
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) said in a tweet: ‘Israelis across the country—on Shabbat and the holiday of Simchat Torah—woke up to sirens sounding and Hamas firing rockets at them from Gaza this morning. We will defend ourselves.’
It later added that it was ‘striking Hamas targets in Gaza’. IDF troops are also engaged in gun battles on the ground across a number of locations close to the border with the Gaza territory.
Army spokesperson Lt Col Richard Hecht told reporters of the Hamas incursion: ‘It was a combined ground raid which happened through paragliders, through the sea and through the ground.
‘Right now we’re fighting. We’re fighting in certain locations around the Gaza Strip… our forces are now fighting on the ground.’
But the attack – on Sinchat Torah, a Jewish holiday marking the end of the annual cycle of public readings from Jewish scripture – appears to have caught Israel off-guard, despite the government’s campaigning on taking heavy-handed action against would-be Palestinian threats.
It will revive painful memories of the 1973 war practically 50 years to the day, in which Israel’s enemies launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Lt Col Hecht would not be drawn on how Hamas had caught the army off guard, saying only: ‘That’s a good question.’
Israeli security forces take cover as air raid sirens sound in Ashkelon in the south of the country, amid further barrages by Palestinian militants
A rocket is fired from within Gaza City after Israeli forces began launching airstrikes in response to the Hamas offensive on Saturday
Palestinians climbed onto the tank and took selfies after it was immobilised at the border with Gaza – which is lined with fences, cameras and high-tech sensors
Palestinians use an excavator to break through the border fence separating the occupied Gaza Strip from Israel
Residents of Gaza hold what they claim is a number plate belonging to a seized Israeli military vehicle, given to them by Hamas militants
Shocking footage shared on social media appears to show Palestinian fighters parading the naked body of an Israeli woman on the back of a pick-up truck
A plume of smoke rises from a residential apartment building hit by an airstrike in Ashkelon. However, Israel’s Iron Dome defence system is said to have deflected much of the barrage
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the ‘terror of settlers and occupation troops’, the official news agency WAFA quoted him as saying.
He spoke at an emergency meeting held in Ramallah with a number of top officials from the Palestinian Authority.
Volker Türk, the United Nations’ human rights chief, has said he is ‘shocked and appalled’ by the Hamas assault, and has expressed ‘deep concern’ at claims that Israelis have been taken hostage.
He has called for an ‘immediate stop’ to the violence, appealing to ‘all sides…to de-escalate to avoid further bloodshed’.
Mr Türk added: ‘This attack is having a horrific impact on Israeli civilians. Civilians must never be the target of attack.
‘I note also that Israeli forces have responded with air strikes into the densely populated Gaza Strip, reportedly killing at least two people. I call on them to take all precautions to avoid civilian casualties there.’
The United Nations Security Council will convene an emergency meeting following the attacks, Brazil, which currently chairs the UNSC, said.
The Hamas incursion has been condemned by a number of international observers, including Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, the UK and the European Union.
Writing on social media, UK foreign secretary James Cleverly said: ‘The UK unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians. The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he ‘utterly condemned’ the attacks, adding: ‘There is no justification for this act of terror which is being perpetrated by those who seek to undermine any chance for future peace in the region. Israel has a right to defend herself.’
US president Joe Biden has been briefed on the ‘appalling Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel’, according to a White House statement, adding that he was in close contact with Israel as the situation continues to develop.
The French Embassy in Israel branded the manoeuvres as ‘inadmissible terrorist attacks’ in a tweet – a sentiment later echoed by French president Emmanuel Macron.
A young man runs for cover as shelling continues in southern Israel on Saturday, as Hamas said it fired thousands of rockets into the country
A member of Israeli security forces (seen right) stands near burning cars following a rocket attack by Hamas in southern Israel
Israelis gather to donate blood at a hospital in Tel Aviv, following an appeal by the national ambulance service in the wake of the attack by Hamas on Saturday
UK politicians have roundly condemned Hamas’ actions. PM Rishi Sunak said he was ‘shocked’ by the attack, while foreign secretary James Cleverly and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer both said Israel had a right to defend itself
Spain’s acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said he was ‘overwhelmed by this indiscriminate violence’, while Petr Fiala, the prime minister of long-standing Israeli ally the Czech Republic, tweeted: ‘The Czech Republic has always stood and will stand fully with Israel.’
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she ‘unequivocally’ condemned the attacks, branding them ‘terrorism in its most contemptible form’.
However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who has expressed support for the Palestinian cause – urged Israel and Palestinians ‘to act reasonably’ and avoid ‘impulsive’ steps that could lead to further escalation.
Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told news agency Interfax that it was in contact with everyone involved, adding: ‘We always call for restraint.’
Hamas has, however, received support from Shiite militant group Hezbollah – considered a terrorist organisation by a number of countries, including the UK – as well as Iran; Qatar and Kuwait, however, suggested that Israel’s handling of Palestine territories may have played a part in Hamas’ actions.
Hezbollah describing the Palestinian manoeuvres as a response to ‘Israeli crimes’, saying the militants had ‘divine backing’ and that it was in contact with the organisation.
Iran’s state television showed parliament members rising from their seats to chant ‘Death to Israel’, while Kuwait blamed Israel for what it called its ‘blatant attacks’ on Palestinian people and Qatar’s foreign ministry said Israel alone was responsible for an ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinian people.
The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated places in the world, with around two million people packed into 140 square miles.
But it depends on Israel for water, electricity, telecommunications, and other utilities, and imports are carefully controlled by the occupying country.
Saturday’s incursion sets the stage for what was likely to be a new heavy round of fighting between the bitter enemies, after weeks of heightened tensions along Israel’s volatile border with Gaza, and heavy fighting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.
The bitter enemies have fought four wars since then. There have also been numerous rounds of smaller fighting between Israel and Hamas and other smaller militant groups based in Gaza.
Saturday’s incident is the most serious since a 10-day war in 2021, with Israeli media reporting gun battles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in towns in southern Israel.
The Israel-Gaza border is heavily fortified, with cameras and sensors both above and below ground to deter incursions like the one that began on Saturday – marking a significant escalation the Palestinian offensive.
The AFP agency reports that at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners were killed in the conflict this year prior to Saturday, including combatants and civilians on both sides, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Smoke could be seen rising from multiple places after barrages were fired early on Saturday in the surprise attack
A thick, dark plume of smoke rises from a damaged building in Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv, after it was struck by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip
A building burns in the Israeli city of Gedera after Hamas fired a claimed 5,000 rockets
Rockets landed in suburban areas, striking homes – pictured above: fire at a home in Ashkelon, southern Israel after it was struck by a rocket
Locals in Ashkelon assess the damage after rockets were fired into residential areas across southern Israel by Palestinian militants
An Israeli war jet is seen flying over the country after Hamas began its barrage on Saturday
Firefighters in Ashkelon, Israel tackle blazes started by rockets fired into the country on Saturday morning by the militant group Hamas
The vast majority of fatalities have occurred in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict.
There has been a rise in army raids, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property.
The blockade, which restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, has devastated the territory’s economy.
Israel says the blockade is needed to keep militant groups from building up their arsenals. The Palestinians say the closure amounts to collective punishment.
The rocket fire comes during a period of heavy fighting in the West Bank, where nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military raids this year.
Israel says the raids are aimed at militants, but stone-throwing protesters and people uninvolved in the violence have also been killed. Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets have killed over 30 people.
The tensions have also spread to Gaza, where Hamas-linked activists held violent demonstrations along the Israeli border in recent weeks. Those demonstrations were halted in late September after international mediation.
But the escalation also comes at a delicate time for Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, as protests against the government’s deeply divisive plan to overhaul the judiciary have spread even within the ranks of the military.
Hundreds of soldiers in the military reserves have either pulled out of training sessions or said they will not report for duty over the judicial changes.
The protests threaten to undermine Mr Netanyahu’s international reputation as a security expert and raising fears about the effects on the operational readiness of Israel’s armed forces – which is now being unexpectedly and suddenly tested.
The Israel-Palestine conflict: recent events in a decades-long dispute
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas launched its biggest assault on Israel in years early on Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets from Gaza and sending fighters across the border.
Israel said it was on a war footing and began its own strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza, with Israeli media reporting gun battles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in southern Israel.
The following timeline, which begins with Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, details the major flare-ups in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian groups in the crowded coastal enclave, which is home to 2.3 million people.
August 2005: Israeli forces unilaterally withdraw from Gaza 38 years after capturing it from Egypt in the Middle East war, abandoning settlements and leaving the enclave under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
Jan. 25, 2006: The Islamist group Hamas wins a majority of seats in a Palestinian legislative election. Israel and the U.S. cut off aid to Palestinians because Hamas refuses to renounce violence and recognise Israel.
June 25, 2006: Hamas militants capture Israeli army conscript Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid from Gaza, prompting Israeli air strikes and incursions. Shalit is finally freed more than five years later in a prisoner exchange.
June 14, 2007: Hamas takes over Gaza in a brief civil war, ousting Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank.
Dec. 27, 2008: Israel launches a 22-day military offensive in Gaza after Palestinians fire rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis are reported killed before a ceasefire is agreed.
Nov. 14, 2012: Israel kills Hamas’s military chief of staff, Ahmad Jabari. Eight days of Palestinian militant rocket fire and Israeli air strikes follow.
July-August 2014: The kidnap and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas leads to a seven-week war in which more than 2,100 Palestinians are reported killed in Gaza and 73 Israelis are reported dead, 67 of them military.
March 2018: Palestinian protests begin at Gaza’s fenced border with Israel. Israeli troops open fire to keep protestors back. More than 170 Palestinians are reported killed in several months of protests, which also prompt fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces.
May 2021: After weeks of tension during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, hundreds of Palestinians are wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces at the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site.
After demanding Israel withdraw security forces from the compound, Hamas unleashes a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israel hits back with air strikes on Gaza. Fighting goes on for 11 days, killing at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
Aug 2022: At least 44 people, including 15 children, are killed in three days of violence that begin when Israeli air strikes hit a senior Islamic Jihad commander.
Israel says the strikes were a pre-emptive operation against an imminent attack by the Iranian-backed militant movement, targeting commanders and arms depots. In response, Islamic Jihad fires more than 1,000 rockets towards Israel. Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system prevents any serious damage or casualties.
Jan 2023: Islamic Jihad in Gaza fires two rockets towards Israel after Israeli troops raid a refugee camp and kill seven Palestinian gunmen and two civilians. The rockets set off alarms in Israeli communities near the border but cause no casualties. Israel responds with air strikes on Gaza.
Oct 2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in years from the Gaza Strip, with a surprise assault combining gunmen crossing the border with a heavy barrage of rockets. Islamic Jihad says its fighters have joined the attack.
Israel’s military said it was on a war footing, adding it had carried out strikes targeting Hamas in Gaza and had called up reservists.
Source: Reuters
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