LIVE Updates: At least 700 dead, Israeli PM Netanyahu declares 'war' after Hamas terrorists launch massive attack

Hamas has launched the biggest attack on Israel in years, killing at least 300 and wounding hundreds more with a barrage of rockets as gunfights are reported in Sderot and other cities in southern Israel.

Covered by: Chris Pandolfo, Breana Scheckwitz, Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, Peter Aitken, Adam Shaw, Benjamin Weinthal, Andrea Vacchiano, Landon Mion and Anders Hagstrom / FOX News

 

Fast Facts

• Hamas militants have infiltrated Israel in an unprecedented attack, firing more than 3,500 rockets at residential areas from the Gaza Strip

• At least 300 people were killed in the terrorist attack and hundreds more were wounded, according to Israel's national rescue service

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video that Israel is "at war" and called for a massive military response

• The attack was carried out on the holiday of Simchat Torah. 
  

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IDF Spokesperson Predicts the World's Response as Israel Begins to Strike Back

Leah Barkoukis / Townhall Tipsheet

 

Hundreds of terrorists crossed from Gaza into Israel early Saturday morning, attacking dozens of Israeli communities and military bases, going house to house executing civilians, and abducting both civilians and military personnel, including women, children, the elderly and disabled, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said in a video statement posted on X.  

Conricus called the attack, which has killed more than 200 civilians thus far, “unprecedented,” but vowed that the Israeli response would be as well. The spokesperson noted, however, that the significant number of hostages the terrorists took will shape Israel’s response and “the future of this war.”

While central and southern Israel faced a barrage of more than 3,000 rocket attacks, the Iron Dome defense system prevented a number of casualties. Instead, the high death count came largely as a result of the close-contact executions. Read more see X and video here.