GAZA CITY/TEL AVIV – At least 200 Palestinians were martyred and over 1,000 others injured in Israel’s attacks on Gaza while death toll from the Hamas group’s massive and surprise attacks on Israel rises to more than 200. Israeli media says at least 1,100 were wounded, many seriously. The toll is expected to rise higher. Israeli officials say over 1,000 injured in unprecedented infiltration from Gaza, with Hamas fighters at 22 sites attacking civilians and soldiers; thousands of rockets fired at Israel.
The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip says 232 Palestinians were martyred and another 1,697 were wounded in the Gaza Strip since the start of the violence. Hundreds of Hamas fighters infiltrated into Israel on Saturday morning, crossing at multiple points and overwhelming what the Israelis considered to be the highly sophisticated border fence. Hamas claims to have abducted dozens of Israelis to Gaza; the IDF has also confirmed that soldiers and civilians were taken hostage, but has not specified a number. Thousands of rockets were fired at the south and center of the country, killing a number of people. Israeli Commander Nimrod Aloni was also among those captured by Hamas in the ongoing war. Nimrod Aloni was the commander of the Depth Corps.
Hamas military wing Al-qasim Brigades launched the surprise attack in response to the Israeli attacks. Israeli government has confirmed deaths and abductions in the surprise attack by Hamas fighters and al-Quds Brigades. Gaza-based Islamic Jihad said its military wing al-Quds Brigades fighters had also joined the operation as Hamas called on Palestinians everywhere to fight and on resistance groups in Lebanon also to join the fighting against Israel.
Palestinian fighters crossed the fence into Israeli occupied cities with a heavy barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip. They have also captured “many” Israeli soldiers. According to the reports from the Gaza Strip the intensity of Israeli aerial bombardment has been increasing. A Palestinian journalist was martyred in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is the only guarantee for “security, stability and peace” in the region. Hamas releases video showing 3 men captured by its fighters Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, released a video Saturday showing its fighters had captured three men who were dressed in civilian clothes. “Scenes of Al-Qassam Brigades capturing a number of enemy soldiers in the battle of Al-Aqsa Flood,” said a sentence appearing on a black background at the start of the video.
Signs in Hebrew in the background suggested the footage was filmed on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Other videos circulating on social media showed bodies of a number of people in military fatigues as well as dead motorists and passengers on a highway.
None of the footage could immediately be independently verified by AFP. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical services said 22 people had been shot dead in the country, after Palestinian militants crossed from the Gaza Strip. Militants also fired thousands of rockets towards Israel, which hit back with air strikes. There was no official confirmation from Gaza health officials of reports that multiple Palestinians had been killed inside the territory. Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007, following Hamas taking control, and the army has since fought multiple wars against militants.__The Nation
