Israel is in shock after the surprise Hamas attack that started on Saturday morning. So far, at least 600 Israelis have been confirmed killed. Around 2,000 are injured and several hundred are missing. Israeli security officials were apparently caught off guard by the brutal attack. What was it that happened? At 05.30 while most Israelis are sleeping, Hamas fires between 2,500 and 5,000 rockets at Israel. Many of the rockets are shot down by Israel’s advanced missile shield system, Iron Dome. But the anti-aircraft system fails to shoot down the wave of rockets, and many hit targets in Israeli cities. Cars, buildings and military bases are on fire in several places in Israel. Hamas makes its first statement: – We declare the start of operation “al-Aqsa Flood”. WE have hit enemy positions, airfields and military bases with 5,000 missiles and grenades. So says Mohammed Deif, the man who leads Hamas’s feared military branch, the al-Qassam Brigade. At 06.40 Under cover of the rain of rockets, several hundred Hamas fighters from Gaza manage to penetrate the strict security measures on the border with Israel. They first attack the border crossings Kerem Shalom in the south and Erez in the north. These are the two official transitions from Israel to the Gaza Strip. A large number of Israeli soldiers are killed and captured, according to Israeli authorities. By taking control of the border posts, the Hamas fighters can easily enter Israel. On Saturday morning, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel. Some Hamas fighters are driving into towns and Israeli cities around Gaza. In several places, fighters break through the huge security fence on the border. In a video, fighters can be seen entering on motorbikes through a hole in the fence. A hijacked wheel loader is used to destroy a border fence, and people pour through. Others take the sea route aboard speedboats. While some actually fly into Israel using motorized hang gliders. Now comes the first shocking mobile videos of heavily armed Hamas fighters inside Israeli cities. Within a very short time, many small Israeli towns and cities are under attack. According to the BBC, a total of 27 places were attacked by Hamas fighters on Saturday morning. On Sunday evening, the BBC writes that at least 27 places were attacked by Hamas fighters. At 08.30 Now comes the first news reports that Israel has sent more than 30 fighter jets over Gaza to bomb targets on the densely populated coastal strip. Photo: Reuters Palestinian health authorities come out and say that around 200 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli airstrikes. At the same time, Hamas fighters begin to take Israelis hostage. At a rave party on the border with Gaza, several young Israelis are taken away against their will. Israeli woman is taken hostage by Hamas. Many of the hostages are transported across the border to Gaza where they are paraded in the streets. At 10.30 – Hamas has declared war on Israel, says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He confirms that Israeli security forces are fighting terrorists in at least 21 different locations in southern Israel. – Hamas has made a big mistake by attacking Israel. We will win this war, says the Minister of Defence. Experts believe the Hamas attack is the biggest security failure in Israel’s modern history. – The big thing about this is that Hamas has infiltrated Israel with military personnel, with jeeps and what are called gliders, i.e. a type of glider, and that there are ongoing street battles in cities in southern Israel. I’ve never seen anything like it. That is what the Swedish Middle East expert Anders Persson tells SVT. According to Persson, it seemed as if the Israeli security authorities were completely caught off guard by the attack. – It is a huge mistake by the Israeli security authority that it has not succeeded in stopping Hamas. Israeli security forces still do not have control over certain areas in southern Israel. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, several hundred Israeli soldiers and civilians have been taken hostage and transported to Gaza. At the same time, people in Gaza fear that Israel will soon invade the coastal strip to free the Israeli hostages and to take revenge on Hamas. On Sunday evening, the health authorities in Gaza report that 413 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Saturday morning.
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