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As much of Israel slept on Saturday, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented multi-pronged attack on Israel from Gaza. The Middle East’s most powerful security forces were caught off guard. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured on both sides.
Here’s how things unfolded.
The rocket begins to ignite
The attack, launched on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, began in the early hours of the morning and saw thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns. Barrage attacks set off alarms in the country’s south and center, forcing people to flee to bomb shelters.
The Israeli military said Gaza militants fired more than 4,500 rockets over the weekend. Many were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, but satellite imagery showed fire and smoke in some of the places where they were hit.
Hamas militants attack Israel
Hundreds of Hamas militants launched simultaneous attacks from land, air and sea, repeatedly breaching the solid barrier between Gaza and Israel.
Pictures and videos showed motorcycles carrying armed militants driving through a hole in the border fence and bulldozers destroying parts of the fence. Bombs, rockets and drones could also be seen blowing up fences and defensive positions.
Militants using motorized paragliders attacked the Supernova music festival not far from the Gaza border, turning the two-day carnival into a scene of carnage.
Gunmen chased young Israelis through the desert, shooting and taking people hostage to take back to Gaza. The Israeli military did not respond for several hours, apparently caught off guard by the attack. Hundreds of bodies have been recovered from the scene.
Attacks on Israeli cities
After breaching the Gaza fence, Hamas militants began targeting Israeli communities in multiple locations, taking hostages door to door.
Pictures and videos showed people lying in the streets after execution-style killings and residents including women, children and the elderly being taken away.
Militants also attacked military sites.
According to Israeli media reports, more than 900 Israeli civilians and soldiers have died since Saturday. It was the country’s worst attack since its founding in 1948.
Israel’s response
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu imposed a “total siege” on Gaza, mobilized a record 300,000 reservists and ordered the Gaza Strip to be bombed from the air.
According to the Palestinian Authority, the death toll from Israeli air strikes in Gaza has reached 687. A dozen people were also killed in the occupied West Bank, authorities said.
The sophistication of the Hamas attack is unlike anything Israel has witnessed in decades. This raises serious questions about the security services’ intelligence gathering and the military’s preparedness for an attack.
Vision and Data Team: Peter Andlinga, Steve Bernard, Chris Campbell, Sam Joyner, Lucy Rogers and Alan Smith
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
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