More Than 1,200 Israelis Killed Or Wounded In Surprise Palestinian Attack

The death toll from the large-scale Palestinian attack on Israel has risen to more than 150, Hebrew-language media reported, citing Israeli medical officials.

Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip led by the Hamas Movement launched the surprise attack on the morning of October 7. The attack, codenamed “Al-Qasa Flood,” began with a barrage of hundreds of rockets that targeted southern and central Israel. Several groups of Palestinian fighters later infiltrate nearby settlements and military positions from land, sea and air.

The attack came a day after Israel and the Arab world marked the 50th anniversary of the surprise attack by Egypt and Syria that launched the Yom Kippur War.

The Israeli Health Ministry says that at least 1,100 people have been wounded and taken to hospitals as a result of the unprecedented attack.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that 198 Palestinians have been killed and another 1,610 have been wounded since the start of the escalation.

Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters attacked 50 positions of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during the attack and are still fighting in at least 25 of these positions, which include the headquarters of the so-called Gaza Division.

The brigades and other factions shared videos showing two captured IDF positions with dozens of abandoned military vehicles as well as a strike on a military vehicle with an anti-tank guided missile and two drone attacks that targeted a gathering of Israeli troops and a remotely-controlled machine gun.

From its side, the IDF said that its naval forces had killed dozens of Palestinian fighters who attempted to infiltrate into Israel this morning.

The IDF also stepped up strikes on Gaza, taking down two high-rise towers in the strip which were allegedly used to house Hamas assets.

Following the uptake in Israeli strikes, Hamas spokesman Abu Obeidah said that Tel Aviv will be targeted as a response. In a separate statement, the spokesman said that dozens of Israeli soldiers and officers who were captured during the attack are currently in “safe positions and resistance tunnels.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who received promises of support from the United States” announced earlier that” Israel is at war”.

Currently, Egypt is reportedly making efforts to de-escalate. However, Israel who sustained heavy losses will not likely halt strikes on Gaza even if Hamas and other Palestinian factions ended their operation. The IDF will likely go on to launch a ground offensive against the strip once southern Israel is secured.

Source - South Front