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Palestinian armed group Hamas launched thousands of missiles at Israel and deployed its militants to infiltrate Jewish settlements near the country’s border with Gaza on Saturday morning.
A number of people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the surprise attacks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that country was “at war” and promised Hamas retaliation they “have never known before.”
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded by sending dozens of warplanes to strike targets in Gaza.
Washington’s commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself remains “unwavering,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
In the coming days, the Pentagon will “work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism,” he promised.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said that Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Gaza on Saturday have resulted in at least 161 people being killed and more than 930 wounded.
The White House said in a statement that it condemns what it described as “unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians.” The Biden administration has stressed that it stands “firmly” with the people of Israel and its government. “There is never any justification for terrorism,” the statement read.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has already discussed the situation with his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi and the sides remain in touch, it added.Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom has updated the casualty figures in the Hamas attack, saying that at least 40 have been killed and 740 others wounded.
An adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appeared to support what the Israeli media have described as the biggest Palestinian attack on the country in years.
“We congratulate the Palestinian fighters. We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem,” Rahim Safavi said, as quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency.
Moscow, which remains in touch with the Israelis, the Palestinians and the Arab states, is calling for an “immediate ceasefire and peace,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said.
The events in Israel are a “relapse of the conflict which has been underway for 75 years,” he stated.
The peace process between the two sides should begin “immediately” based on existing international treaties, Bogdanov said. “There were no talks and this is the result,” he added.
The IDF has published a video of its airstrikes on targets in Gaza as part of its retaliatory operation called “Iron Sword.” It said 17 Hamas military compounds and four operational command centers had been hit on Saturday.
In the last few hours, dozens of IDF fighter jets struck 17 military compounds and 4 operational command centers belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/Vxz7S9f76P
— Israel Defence Force ⚔️ (@Idf_Sword) October 7, 2023