The death toll from the Hamas surprise attack on Israel Saturday has surged to more than 200, the army said, accusing the Palestinian militants of breaking into homes and “massacring civilians”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to avenge what he said was a “black day” for Israel, saying the army will strike back at Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza with full force.
“The IDF is about to use all its force to destroy Hamas’s capabilities,” Netanyahu said
“We’ll strike them to the bitter end and avenge with force this black day they brought on Israel and its people,” he said, after Hamas militants launched a surprise dawn attack, sending hundreds of militants into Israel under cover of a huge rocket barrage.
Gun battles raged into the night after Hamas’ large-scale attack against Israel Saturday, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza and sending fighters to kill and abduct soldiers and civilians.
The attack signals the first of such combined ground, air and sea offensive, half a century after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
