Hamaan militants launch massive attacks on Israel

Israel's military said on October 7th that it was hitting Hamas' targets in Gaza following an intense hail of missile attacks in the early hours of the morning aimed at targets south of Israel.

Hamas' militant group launched dozens of rockets in Israel on the morning of 7 October, urging authorities to issue alarms for air strikes across the country, including in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. An army spokesman said a house in Tel Aviv has been hit by a rocket even though there are still no reports of victims. A 70-year-old woman reportedly was killed in southern Israel, where officials have warned residents to stay in their homes because of “the security killer”.

Hamas published a statement saying that over 5,000 rockets were launched in what he called the “-Operation Al-Axa Flood”.

“We have decided to end all occupational crimes”, the statement said. Their time to commit crimes without being held accountable has finished”.

Palestinian media claimed that armed militants crossed the border from Gaza to Israel, meanwhile Israel's Defence Forces have written on X é earlier known as Twitter that “a number of terrorists have infiltrated Israel's territory from the Gaza Strip”.

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyah, is reportedly headed to Tel Aviv for an emergency meeting with security officials, while the defence minister has authorised that army reservers be called into office.

The attack comes when a Jewish religious festival is being marked in Israel. It also comes after a period of intense fighting in the West Coast, where almost 200 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army during the raids this year. Meanwhile, as a result of Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets, over 30 people have been killed.

Israel has held a strict blockade in Gaza since Hamas took over territory in 2007. Limitation of the movement of goods and people has destroyed the economy in Gaza, but Israel has said the blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching militant groups.

Israel invaded the West Coast in 1967 during the six - day war. / REL