The Israeli army warned people to stay close to bomb shelters as air raid sirens sounded over Israel’s southern and central regions.
New Delhi: After launching a barrage of rockets into Israeli territory on Saturday from the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that the Palestinian militant group Hamas had declared “war” on his country.
“Hamas has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the State of Israel,” Mr. Gallant said in a statement.
“IDF troops (Israeli army) are fighting against the enemy at every location,” he stated. I urge all Israeli citizens to abide by security directives. In a video message on, he asserted, “The State of Israel will prevail in this battle.
Israel’s police commander, Yaakov Shabtai, stated that special police teams are now working in 21 different areas, and that the whole south of Israel has been cordoned off.
After the initial launches from several points across the Palestinian area at 6:30 am, rockets continued to pour across the sky. The escalation of hostilities comes after months of rising bloodshed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the number of casualties in the West Bank occupied reaching levels not seen in years.
The Israeli army warned people to stay close to bomb shelters as air raid sirens sounded over Israel’s southern and central regions.
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said it was behind the aerial assault, claiming its militants had launched more than 5,000 rockets.
Hamas “will face the consequences and responsibility for these events”, an army statement said.