The death toll among Israeli residents in the Hamas terrorist campaign that started Saturday reached 350 as of Sunday morning, with more than 1800 injured and dozens kidnapped to Gaza. Hundreds are still hospitalized, with more than 100 with serious conditions. Early in the morning, Hezbollah fired mortar bombs on IDF positions at the Har Dov (Sheba Farms) on the Lebanese border. IDF in response struck the Shiite terrorist group's positions.
Video: PM says Israel is at war / Credit:Twitter/@Israelipm
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the call-up of many reservists as deemed necessary, with the IDF saying it was elevating its readiness level to "war." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement in which he vowed that "our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known." He added in his special address, "We are at war."
Video: Reuters / Israeli firefighters attempt to put out fires after rockets fired from Gaza
The unprecedented Hamas onslaught began at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday with a barrage of rockets into Israel, which according to Hamas amounted to several thousand. Fiver Israeli residents were killed by the rocket fire, which reached as far north as Tel Aviv.
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Hamas' leader of its military wing, Mohammed Deif, announced on Gaza television that this was in response to "the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque." He called on other terrorist groups in Lebanon to join the fighting. There was an unconfirmed report that there was one Israeli captive, apparently a soldier, taken into the Gaza Strip. Some of the Hamas terrorists entered by overland routes after breaching the border fence, others by paragliders. "There are quite a few locations in the south where terrorists are still present in the south," the IDF said. On Saturday night Israeli special forces Border Police managed to retake areas that had been controlled by terrorists, including a Sderot police station, where troops killed 10 Hamas members. They also freed dozens who were held hostage in Kibbutz Be'eri and Ofakim. As of Sunday morning, almost all the Gaza border towns had been cleared of terrorists. The IDF said 26 soldiers died in the Hamas attack on Saturday.
Video: Terrorists enter border towns near Gaza / Credit: Social media
As the rocket attacks continued throughout southern and central Israel, millions of Israelis were instructed to stay near bomb shelters in their homes and apartment buildings. The army said residents next to Gaza should stay in their homes due to the "security incident as of Saturday morning, there were several confirmed cases of gunbattle in southern towns. Some Israeli reports said that residents were pleading with IDF to troops to rush to the scene, with footage showing Hamas terrorists on motorbikes driving freely on the streets of Israeli towns shouting "God is Great" and firing at residents.
Video: Security forces respond to rocket attack / Credit: Erez Linn
Israel ordered residents near Gaza to remain indoors as it said a "suspected security incident" along the border had occurred.
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