JERUSALEM (AP) — The capture of dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians — elderly women, children, entire families — by Hamas militants has stirred Israeli emotions more viscerally than any crisis in the country’s recent memory and presented an impossible dilemma for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The Islamist militant group’s 2006 seizure of a sole young conscript, Gilad Shalit, consumed Israeli society for years — a national obsession that prompted Israel to heavily bombard the Gaza Strip and ultimately release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom had been convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis, in exchange for Shalit’s freedom.
This time, Gaza’s Hamas rulers have abducted dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers as part of a multipronged, shock attack on Saturday. Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group smaller and more brazen than Hamas, said Sunday that it alone had seized 30 hostages.
Israel says it is at war as its soldiers battle Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel and launch airstrikes on Gaza, the day after an unprecedented surprise attack by Hamas fighters. In northern Israel a brief exchange of strikes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group raised fears of a broader conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin said Sunday that his Security Cabinet has formally declared the country at war.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides. Americans were reported to be among those killed and missing.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force that is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas and conducting surveillance.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” U.S. Secretary of State Andrew Blinken said as many as 1,000 Hamas fighters were involved in the assault — a high figure that underscored the extent of planning by the militant group ruling Gaza. The gunmen rampaged for hours, gunning down civilians in towns, along highways and at a techno music festival being held in the desert near Gaza.
Israel hit more than 800 targets in Gaza so far, its military said, including airstrikes that leveled much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the enclave's northeast corner.
Israelis peeked out their windows to see terrifying scenes of armed Hamas militants outside, trying to break into their houses and shooting at anyone they saw. Thousands of Israeli party-goers at a desert rave screamed and ran for their lives as victims collapsed around them. Family members searching for missing loved ones were shaken to recognize them in haunting social media videos showing Hamas militants taking terrified Israelis hostage.
Israel was in shock, with the unprecedented scenes of violence and chaos unfolding across the country's south seared into people's minds. Even the steely nerved residents of communities near the Gaza Strip who have grown used to the wail of air-raid sirens described Saturday's ground assault — with fighters entering their communities in pick-up trucks, on boats and by hang-gliders — as a nightmare come true.
MEDIA REPORTS: ISRAELI LIVES LOST STANDS AT 600
The number of lives taken in Israel following a surprise attack by the militant group Hamas stands at 700, according to several Israeli media outlets.
The Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12, as well as the Haaretz and Times of Israel newspapers, reported the deaths Sunday.
There has been no official confirmation of the number of deaths on the Israeli side since the fighting erupted early Saturday.
Palestinian officials say more than 300 people have been killed in Gaza, without differentiating between fighters and civilians.
Hamas gunmen used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing Gaza on Saturday, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast.
U.S. IS LOOKING AT POSSIBLY SENDING MORE ASSISTANCE TO ISRAEL, BLINKEN SAYS
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is looking at additional requests for assistance that the Israelis have made, and there could be developments on that front later Sunday.
He told CNN President Joe Biden’s “direction was to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas.’’
Blinken, who gave interviews to multiple U.S. television news shows Sunday, also talked about how the Hamas attack could have been motivated in part to derailed an emerging diplomatic deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
“It’s no surprise that those who are opposed to the talks, those who are opposed to Israel normalizing relations with its neighbors and the countries beyond the region are Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. And so it’s entirely possible that one of the motivations for this attack was to try to derail these efforts to advance normalization,” Blinken said.
He said Washington had seen reports that Americans were missing or had been killed and “we’re working overtime to verify that.”
IRANIAN OFFICIAL PRAISES HAMAS' ACTIONS
Ali Shamkhani, the political adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said in a post on X that the Hamas attack was “a decisive, unique and effective” operation that was a legitimate defense against the Israeli government.
“The Palestinian resistance is a mature and independent movement whose power comes from widespread public support,” he added.
EXPLOSIONS AND AIRSTRIKES IN RAFAH
In the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday, residents heard a loud explosion, apparently from an Israeli airstrike that hit a target close to the borders with Egypt. It was not immediately clear what was targeted. Residents said a house in the area had been evacuated.
Israel carried out dozens of airstrikes in Rafah overnight. One of the strikes hit three homes in one of the most crowded refugee camps, Shaboura, killing 19 members of the same family, according to a family member who posted their names on his social media. Surviving family members and neighbors filled al-Farouk mosque, holding funeral prayers as the bodies of those killed wrapped in white shrouds lined the floor. The crowd then marched to the nearby cemetery for burial, some carrying the bodies.
Also on Sunday, loudspeakers from mosques and moving cars in Rafah blared with condolences and praise for fighters from Hamas, believed to be natives of Rafah, who were killed during the assault on Israel.
