Israel declares war, approves 'significant' measures in retaliation for Hamas surprise attack

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - The Israeli government formally declared war Sunday, saying it would take "significant military actions" in retaliation for Hamas's surprise attack as the military tried to crush insurgents in southern cities and step up bombing raids. I gave the go-ahead. Gaza Strip. The death toll was 1,100 killed and thousands injured on both sides.

More than 24 hours after Hamas launched its unprecedented invasion from Gaza, Israeli forces were still trying to destroy the last militant groups holed up in several cities. At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel, a staggering number the country has not seen in decades, and more than 400 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. .

The declaration of war suggested that large-scale fighting would occur, and the key question was whether Israel would launch a ground attack on Gaza, which would have caused more casualties in the past. is occurring. Meanwhile, in northern Israel, a brief interaction with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah raised concerns that fighting could escalate into a larger regional war.

Authorities are still trying to determine how many civilians and soldiers have returned to Gaza after being captured by Hamas militants during the chaos. The prisoners include women, children and the elderly, according to video and witness accounts.

Ziad Nahaleh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, said the group involved in the attack had detained more than 30 Israelis, including dozens trapped in Gaza. He said he would not be released until all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons were released.

US Secretary of State Andrew Blinken appeared on ABC's "This Week" and said up to 1,000 Hamas fighters were involved in the attack. He emphasizes that this high number reflects the scale of the extremist group planning attacks on the Gaza-controlled area. Gunmen rampaged for hours, shooting civilians in the city, along highways and at a techno music festival in the desert near Gaza. Zaka emergency services said they removed around 260 bodies from the festival and that the number of casualties was expected to rise as other medical teams worked on the scene.

Videos broadcast on social media and by the Israel News Agency showed dozens of festival goers running through fields as gunfire erupted. Many hid in nearby orchards or were shot while trying to escape.

The military says Israel has so far attacked more than 800 targets in the Gaza Strip, including an airstrike that destroyed much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the northeastern corner of the enclave. announced. Israeli Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari told reporters that Hamas was using the city as a base for attacks, with 4,444 fighter jets firing massive amounts of explosives at 120 targets. There was no immediate information on the number of casualties, with most of the community's population of tens of thousands likely fleeing the bombing.

"We will use this force to continuously attack in this way all assembly points and routes used by Hamas," Hagari said.

Civilians on both sides have already paid a heavy price.

A line of Israelis snaked outside Israel's Central Police Station, delivering DNA samples and other resources that could help identify missing family members. Israeli television news aired a series of reports of relatives of captured or missing Israelis weeping and pleading for help and information.

In Gaza, a small enclave of 2.3 million people that has been blockaded by an Israeli and Egyptian blockade for 16 years since Hamas took power, residents feared an escalation of attacks. Israeli military attacks destroyed several residential buildings. Approximately 74,000 people displaced from the Gaza Strip are housed in 64 evacuation centers, and the number continues to rise. The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency, UNWRA, said the school, home to more than 225 people, was hit hard. The source of the fire has not been disclosed.

Several Israeli media outlets, citing rescue workers, reported that at least 700 people were killed inside Israel, including 44 soldiers. Gaza's Ministry of Health said 413 people were killed in the area, including 78 children and 41 women. Some 2,000 people have been wounded on each side. An Israeli official said security forces have killed 400 militants and captured dozens more.

The exchange of fire with Hezbollah added to concern that the conflict could spread. Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells Sunday at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the border, and the Israeli military fired back using armed drones. Two children were lightly wounded by broken glass on the Lebanese side, according to the nearby Marjayoun Hospital.

The Israeli military announced that the situation had calmed down after this exchange.

Iran-backed Hezbollah is estimated to have tens of thousands of rockets. Since its brutal war with Israel in 2006, Hezbollah has sat on the sidelines amid previous fighting between Israel and Hamas. But if the destruction in Gaza intensifies, it may feel pressure to intervene.

The declaration of war issued by Israel's Security Cabinet was largely symbolic, said Yohanan Plesner, director of the Israel Democracy Institute, a local think tank. But this "suggests that the government believes we are entering a period of longer, more intense and more significant wars." Japan has carried out numerous military operations and portrayed them as wars, but there were no wars. formal declaration.

The Security Cabinet also agreed to ``significant military measures.'' The steps are not clear, but the statement appears to give broad powers to the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a speech on state television on Saturday, Prime Minister Netanyahu promised that Hamas "will pay an unprecedented price." Furthermore, he warned: "This war will take time. It will be difficult."

His office said in a statement that Hamas' "military power and governance capabilities" will be destroyed to the extent that it cannot threaten Israelis "for many years." He said that is the goal. The scale, ferocity and surprise of Hamas' attack Early Saturday morning, the group's fighters breached the Israeli security fence around the Gaza Strip. Motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speedboats on the coast.