The Israeli government has officially announced a state of war against Hamas, marking the beginning of a significant military operation in Gaza, amid ongoing intense fighting within its borders. 

On Sunday, tanks and personnel carriers were observed mobilizing near the Israel-Gaza border. This follows an unprecedented and meticulously coordinated surprise attack by Hamas, an Islamist militant organization, which has resulted in the deaths of over 700 Israelis and approximately 500 Palestinians.

Saturday witnessed the deadliest day for Israel in decades, and this escalation comes after months of escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis. This prolonged conflict is now venturing into uncertain and perilous territory, as reported by CNN.

There are lingering questions regarding why the Israeli military and intelligence apparatus appeared to be taken by surprise in what is considered one of the nation’s most severe security failures. Hamas asserts that it is holding “over 100” Israeli hostages, including high-ranking officers, and continues to launch rocket attacks into Israel throughout Sunday. Additionally, another Palestinian armed group known as Islamic Jihad has stated that it is holding a minimum of 30 hostages in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed retaliation, warning his country would take “mighty vengeance” and was readying for “a long and difficult war.”

He advised the residents of Gaza to evacuate without delay.

According to various reports, the death toll among Palestinians in Gaza has exceeded 500 as Israel responds with a series of airstrikes in the densely-populated area.

Throughout this harrowing weekend, Hamas launched thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, causing significant damage in several locations within the country, including Tel Aviv. Simultaneously, armed terrorist groups infiltrated Israel, entering military bases, towns, and farms, where they fired upon civilians and took hostages.

Photographs released by the Israeli foreign ministry depict numerous casualties in the aftermath of a Hamas attack during a music festival near the Israel-Gaza border. According to emergency responders, this attack resulted in a minimum of 260 fatalities.

While Israeli forces engaged in ground clashes with Hamas fighters, Israeli airstrikes targeted what they identified as Hamas-affiliated sites. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that they had struck more than 400 targets within the compact enclave, including ten towers allegedly used by Hamas and “a number of terrorist squads in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip.”

According to Palestinian authorities, 78 children were among the dead, with an additional 2,300 people injured.

According to Netanyahu, Israel’s “first phase” of retaliation has ended with the “destruction of the majority of the enemy forces that penetrated our territory.” It will be followed by an “offensive formation,” he said.

His government has made the decision to halt the supply of fuel, goods, and electricity to Gaza.

Hamas has issued a cautionary statement concerning actions taken in Gaza, indirectly referring to the presence of hostages in the region. In a recorded audio message released on Saturday, Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for the Al Qassam Brigades, which is the armed branch of Hamas, said: “What happens to the people of the Gaza Strip will happen to them and beware of miscalculation.”

Civilians taken hostage include “not only soldiers but civilians, children, grandmothers,” Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told a briefing on Sunday. “We have lost soldiers, we have lost commanders, we have lost a lot of civilians.”

It has been over 17 years since an Israeli soldier was captured as a prisoner of war during an attack on Israeli soil, and Israel has not experienced this level of infiltration into military bases, towns, and kibbutzim since the town-to-town combat during the 1948 war of independence.

On Sunday, Hecht, the spokesperson for the IDF, confirmed that Israeli forces had largely quelled the major conflicts that occurred in the settlement of Otef. However, ongoing operations are still underway in various other parts of the country.

Hecht outlined the IDF’s objective for the next 12 hours, which is to “bring an end to the situation in the Gaza enclave and eliminate all the terrorists within our territory.”

The IDF is currently in the process of evacuating over 20 communities situated near the Gaza security fence. Additionally, they are conducting thorough searches in the area to locate any remaining Hamas militants and are working to secure breaches in the fence.

When questioned by a journalist regarding the intelligence lapse that permitted such a massive-scale attack to happen, Hecht responded saying: “This is not a question for now … I am sure that will be a big discussion down the road.”

The highly coordinated attack, which commenced on Saturday morning, was unparalleled in both its magnitude and breadth. It occurred on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 War, during which Arab states launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Efraim Halevy, the former head of Mossad, Israel’s Intelligence Service, expressed, “We had no prior warning whatsoever, and the outbreak of war this morning was a complete surprise.” He went on to highlight the unprecedented scale of rocket launches by Palestinian militants, noting that it was “never seen before.” Furthermore, this marked “the first time” in which Gaza managed to “penetrate deep into Israel and take control of villages.”