Israel to launch major assault on Gaza, wipe out Hamas

Israel is poised to launch a major assault on Gaza to wipe out Hamas, after its fighters poured into the Jewish state, killing hundreds of Israelis and taking dozens of hostages.

Israel is poised to launch a major assault on Gaza to wipe out the Hamas terrorist organisation after its fighters poured into the Jewish state, killing at least 350 Israelis and taking dozens of hostages in the most brutal attack on the country in half a century.

Militants crossed by air, land and sea into Israel in a shock and awe attack on Saturday, roaming through Israeli towns with impunity in what has been described as the country’s “9/11”.

In horrific scenes, the bodies of dead Israeli civilians were strewn in the streets of the southern Israeli city of Sderot; women and children were dragged away screaming by Hamas militants; and the body of a half-naked woman was paraded on an open truck inside Gaza.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declared the country was “at war” and vowed to pound Hamas’s hiding places “to rubble”, amid questions over the massive intelligence failure that allowed the surprise assault.

“We will win this war, but the price is hard to bear,” Mr Netanyahu said, as he announced a massive call-up of army reservists.

He said the first stage of the­ ­battle was ending with “the destruction of the vast majority of the enemy forces that infiltrated our territory”.

“At the same time, we have begun the offensive phase, which will continue with neither limitations nor respite until the objectives are achieved. We will restore security to the citizens of Israel and we will win,” he said.

As more than 5000 rockets pounded Israel from the Gaza Strip, there were fears Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon could also mount a large-scale attack, forcing Israel to fight enemies on multiple fronts.

Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defence missile system in the early hours of October 8.

The Shi’ite Muslim terrorist group on Sunday said it fired artillery shells and guided rockets at Israeli positions on the countries’ contested border, in solidarity with Hamas. Israel responded with artillery and drone strikes.

Shocking videos were posted online at the weekend of dead Israelis, and of women, children and the elderly being taken hostage at gunpoint.

At an open-air dance party near the Israel-Gaza border, hundreds of revellers fled as armed gunmen opened fire, killing dozens, and taking others prisoner.

A dual German-Israeli national, Shani Louk was among the slain, her naked body mutilated and paraded by the militants on the back of a truck.

Shani Louk, a German national, is believed to have been killed by Palestinian militants during their large scale incursion into Israel. Picture: Instagram

As the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting for Sunday, US President Joe Biden voiced “rock solid and unwavering” support for the US ally and warned “against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation”.

“I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the government and people of Israel,” Mr Biden said.

Anthony Albanese expressed shock at the “abhorrent” violence, declaring Israel “has a right to defend itself, and it will be doing so”.

“This is an attack on Israel by Hamas that has no precedent,” the Prime Minister said. “Civilians being targeted, killed and ­murdered, and as well, many of them being taken as hostages.”

Gun battles raged on Sunday between Israeli forces and hundreds of Hamas fighters in at least 22 Israel locations, including at least two where gunmen were holding hostages, the Israeli Army said.

A ball of fire and smoke rises above a building in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike. Photo: Mahmud Hams / AFP

In a retaliatory strike, Israeli jets destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza, the Palestine Tower, after residents had been warned to flee.

Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said about 100 Israeli citizens and soldiers had been taken hostage, presenting a diabolical challenge for the country‘s military as it targeted Hamas military sites.

The Israeli Defence Force said on Sunday that 350 of the country’s citizens were dead, and another 1800 were injured.

Palestinians were also killed in large numbers, with the Gaza Health Ministry saying at least 313 had died in gun battles and airstrikes, with 2000 wounded.

The Hamas attacks began about 6.30am local time on Saturday – a day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War – with thousands of rockets aimed as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Hamas fighters breached Gaza’s security barrier in ground vehicles, motorised paragliders and boats, attacking nearby Israeli towns and military posts.

Bodies were strewn on the streets of the Israeli town of Sderot near Gaza and inside cars, the windscreens shattered by a hail of bullets.

In one clash, Palestinian militants overwhelmed an Israeli tank.

Others drove a seized Israeli military Humvee vehicle back into Gaza, where they were met by cheering crowds.

Israeli Army Major General Ghasan Alyan said the attackers had “opened the gates of hell”.

“Hamas made the decision and Hamas will bear the responsibility and pay for its deeds,” he said.

Former Australia ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma said the country was in “deep trauma”, and would unleash a massive retaliation to destroy Hamas and its leadership.

“I can’t see how it will be anything other than a full-scale ground incursion into Gaza, and all of Gaza, not just an air operation,” he said. “Everyone I’ve spoken to says ‘We can’t go back to the status quo’, which means they will want to entirely destroy Hamas and Hamas’s military leadership.”

Such an operation would inevitably lead to “huge civilian casualties”, he said, and would be complicated by the large ­number of Israeli hostages now in Gaza.

He said there was a “genuine risk” that Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces in Southern Lebanon could become involved in the fighting, along with Islamic Jihad and Hamas cells in the West Bank.

Unlike the unguided rockets fired from Gaza, Hezbollah has an estimated 150,000 precision-­guided munitions supplied by Iran.

A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry praised the attacks, saying they “opened a new page in resistance and armed operations against the usurpers of occupied territories”.

“The element of surprise was used again in this operation and it shows the self-confidence of Palestinians against their usurpers,” Nasser Kanaani, said, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.

He said it “showed once again how fragile the Israelis are in the face of a serious operation”.

Palestinian militants surround a truck reportedly carrying a captured Israeli woman in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Mr Netanyahu discussed the prospect of forming an emergency government with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, to ensure a united front as the country defended its people.

The Israeli Prime Minister and his security forces are already facing questions over a “catastrophic” intelligence failure that allowed Hamas to penetrate so deeply into the country.

“It’s clear we were caught totally unprepared by this,” the country’s former national security adviser Chuck Freilich told Politico. “The divisional headquarters responsible for Gaza was occupied. They’re in disarray, and so the whole response has been delayed.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AFP