Explainer | 5 things to know about the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel
- The deadliest strike on the country in decades has left many asking how the militants staged such a huge operation without alerting Israeli intelligence
- An unknown number of Israeli soldiers and civilians have been taken hostage in Gaza, reportedly including senior officers
Without warning on Saturday, Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers attacked Israel by air, land and sea. Millions of Israelis in the country’s south awoke to the searing sound of incoming rockets and the inevitable thud of impact.
Air raid sirens wailed as far north as Tel Aviv. Israel’s anti-rocket interceptors thundered in Jerusalem.
And in an unprecedented escalation, armed Hamas fighters blew up parts of Israel’s highly fortified separation fence and strode into Israeli communities along the Gaza frontier, terrorising residents and trading fire with Israeli soldiers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies were scrambling to respond to the rapidly changing events.
Here are some key takeaways from the multipronged attack that has suddenly plunged Israel into war:
Israel was caught unaware
The shock that Israelis felt on Saturday morning – on Simchat Torah, one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar – recalled the surprise of the 1973 Mideast war. Practically 50 years earlier to the day, a full-scale Egyptian-Syrian attack on a Jewish holiday quickly turned into a disaster for an unprepared Israeli military.