Israel declares ‘state of war’ as Hamas militants fire thousands of rockets from Gaza and cross border

Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Israel is “at war” after Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip in the largest attack in years.

The surprise offensive has seen Hamas gunmen cross the border in attacks by land, sea and air, as warning sirens sounded across southern and central parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and Israel’s prime minister called an emergency meeting.

In a rare public statement, Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif said 5,000 rockets had been fired into Israel to begin Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.

“We’ve decided to say enough is enough,” he said, urging all Palestinians to confront Israel, and adding: “This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth.”

A least 22 people have died and 545 people have been hospitalised, Israeli officials have said, with a local authority leader said to be among those killed in fighting.

The Israeli military said its forces were operating inside Gaza but gave no details, and defence minister Yoav Gallant approved the call-up of reservists.

“The military declares a state of war alert,” the military said in a statement. “In the last hour, the Hamas terrorist organisation 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.”

Mr Netanyahu vowed to retaliate, saying: “Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known,” he said. “We are in a war and we will win it.”

Residents in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip had been told to stay in their homes, the military said, adding that Hamas “will face the consequences and responsibility”.

The attack – which is the most serious since Israel and Hamas fought a 10-day war in 2021 – comes nearly 50 years to the day after Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a surprise assault on Israel at the outset of the 1973 war.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue agency said a 70-year-old woman was critically injured when a rocket hit a building in southern Israel. Elsewhere, a 20-year-old man was moderately injured by rocket shrapnel, it said.

Israeli media reported that gunmen had opened fire on passers-by in the town of Sderot, in southern Israel, and unverified footage circulating on social media appeared to show clashes in city streets as well as gunmen in jeeps roaming the countryside.

Palestinian media also reported that a number of Israelis had been taken captive by fighters and Hamas media circulated video footage apparently showing a destroyed Israeli tank.

Following the initial attack, which began at around 6:30am, a group representing military reservists who had planned to refuse to attend training over their objections to the Israeli government’s heavily contentious plans to overhaul the judiciary instead called on reservists to report for duty.

In a statement reported by Israeli media, Mr Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, said: “Hamas made a grave mistake this morning and started a war against the State of Israel. IDF soldiers are fighting the enemy at all the infiltration sites.”

Israeli opposition Leader Yair Lapid described the rocket attacks as “relentless”, adding in a statement that “Israel is in an emergency” and backing a “harsh military response” to Hamas’s attack.

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 not involved in the violence have also been killed. Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets have killed more than 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.

Additional reporting by agencies