Import ban on goods imposed
Israel wants to bomb Hamas into the ground
October 8, 2023, 5:35 a.m
In response to the bloody surprise attack by Hamas, the Israeli security cabinet decides on comprehensive countermeasures. The Islamist organization is to be completely dismantled and the import of raw materials and energy into the Gaza Strip is to be stopped.
In response to the surprise major attacks by the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel has decided to launch devastating strikes against the Palestinian organization. The aim is to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad “so that they are no longer able and willing to threaten and attack the citizens of Israel for many years,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office at an early morning security cabinet meeting. Among other things, it was decided to stop electricity, fuel and goods deliveries to the Gaza Strip.
“We are beginning a long and difficult war, forced upon us by a murderous attack by Hamas,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying. The first phase now ends with the “destruction of the majority of the enemy forces that have invaded our territory,” it said after the Security Council meeting. At the same time, an offensive phase was initiated, which will continue without restrictions until the goals are achieved. “We will restore the security of the citizens of Israel and we will win,” it said.
Netnanjahu also called on all residents to flee Gaza. “I say to the residents of Gaza: leave there now, because we will work everywhere with all our strength,” emphasized the Israeli head of government. With regard to the Hamas attacks, Netanyahu spoke of a “black day” for his country and the people, for which Israel would “take revenge.”
Fights continue
The radical Islamic Hamas launched a new war against Israel on Saturday morning with rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, and fighters also invaded Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. The unprecedented major attack began at around 6:30 a.m. local time on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah and apparently took Israel completely by surprise. Hamas spoke of over 5,000 rockets that it fired at Israel in its “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” and that not all of them could be intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system. Explosions were also heard as far away as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. At the same time, Hamas fighters advanced into Israeli territory on foot, in vehicles, boats and even motorized paragliders. They attacked the surprised Israeli soldiers on the heavily secured border with the Gaza Strip and also civilians in the middle of the street. Fighting continued throughout the day and night in several locations in Israel. Israel responded with retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip.
By the evening, more than 200 people had been killed in Israel by Hamas attacks, the Israeli army said on the online service X, formerly Twitter. “The terrorists rioted and broke into houses and massacred civilians,” it said. More than 1,000 people were also injured in the Hamas attacks. According to Palestinian information, at least 232 people were killed and at least 1,697 other people were injured in Gaza by evening. Three high-rise buildings in Gaza with more than ten floors were also destroyed in Gaza.
Hundreds of people fled their homes in northern Gaza with food and blankets, an AFP journalist reported. Violence also escalated in the West Bank, including annexed East Jerusalem. Six Palestinians were killed and another 120 wounded in clashes with Israeli forces and settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007. Since then, Israel has maintained a strict blockade of the narrow coastal strip.