On a fateful Saturday, Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers launched a surprise attack on Israel via air, land, and sea. The sound of incoming rockets and the impact of their strike woke up millions of Israelis in the south. The air raid sirens reached as far north as Tel Aviv, while Israel’s anti-rocket interceptors thundered in Jerusalem.
In an unprecedented escalation, armed Hamas fighters breached Israel’s heavily fortified separation fence and entered Israeli communities along the Gaza border. Israeli residents were terrorized, and intense gunfire exchange occurred with Israeli soldiers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies were caught off guard and scrambled to respond to the rapidly evolving situation. As the day progressed, casualties rapidly increased.
According to the Israeli rescue service Zaka, at least 200 people were killed and 1,100 wounded in southern Israel. In the Gaza Strip, at least 198 people were killed and 1,610 wounded during Israel’s retaliation.
The surprising nature of the attack reminded Israelis of the shock they experienced during the 1973 Mideast war. They had assumed that their intelligence services would have alerted the army to any major attack in advance. This failure had a lasting impact on the legacy of then-Prime Minister Golda Meir and led to the downfall of the dominant Labor Party. Now, the failure to detect the militants’ attack poses a significant challenge to Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government and risks his loss of control over his government and the country.
Hamas claimed to have captured several Israelis in the enclave and released gruesome videos as evidence. Some videos showed militants dragging bloodied soldiers and standing over dead bodies. There are concerns about Israelis being kidnapped, echoing the 2006 capture of soldier Gilad Shalit. In a daring move not seen in decades, Hamas also sent paragliders into Israel.
Hamas officials cited various tensions between Israel and the Palestinians as the reason for the attack. These tensions included disputes over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which holds immense emotional significance for both Muslims and Jews. Claims over the site have led to violence in the past, including the recent 11-day war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli religious nationalists have been increasing their visits to the compound, leading to condemnation from Hamas. Tensions have also escalated with violent Palestinian protests along the Gaza frontier.
This attack comes at a challenging time for Israel, as protests against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s proposed weakening of the Supreme Court have divided society. The protest movement accuses Netanyahu of a power grab, and the turmoil within the Israeli military is a cause for concern. Hundreds of reservists have threatened to stop volunteering for duty in protest, raising concerns about the military’s cohesion and readiness.
Israel and Hamas have a history of conflict, with four wars and numerous exchanges of fire since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Cease-fires have provided temporary calm, but the underlying issues of the conflict are rarely addressed, setting the stage for future rounds of violence. With increased leverage in this round, Hamas is likely to push harder for concessions, such as easing the blockade and releasing prisoners held by Israel.
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