War erupts in the Middle East after Hamas attack on Israel
A large-scale assault from Gaza killed and captured hundreds of Israelis, prompting a declaration of war and a massive military response.
The militant group Hamas launched a large and coordinated assault on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, breaking through border defences by land, sea and air and killing and abducting hundreds of people in the deadliest single day for Israel in its history.
Fighters streamed across the border in the early morning, attacking communities, military posts and an outdoor music festival, and took scores of hostages back into Gaza. Hamas also fired barrages of rockets toward Israeli cities. The scale and ferocity of the attack stunned Israel and its intelligence services.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was at war and vowed a powerful response. Israel launched intensive airstrikes on Gaza, ordered a siege of the territory and began mobilising hundreds of thousands of reservists for a wider operation. Casualties mounted quickly on both sides, with heavy loss of civilian life in densely populated Gaza.
The eruption of fighting set off alarm across the region and the world, raising fears of a broader conflict drawing in other actors. World leaders condemned the attack on civilians while urging restraint, and the plight of hostages and of civilians caught in the fighting drew urgent international concern.
The events marked the start of a prolonged and devastating war whose human toll and geopolitical consequences would dominate international affairs in the months and years that followed.