Israel vows to give horrendous retaliation to enemies after Hamas' surprise attack 

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is at war” following a massive attack by the Hamas terror group.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Netanyahu, on Saturday (Oct 7), said the country was at war’ and swore fierce counterattack after ordering an extensive mobilization of the army reserve.

In a video posted by him on X (formerly Twitter), Netanyahu further said Israel will win the war. 

He further warned that the enemy will have to “pay a price the type of which it has never known” for their actions.

He said: “The enemy will pay a price like they have never known before.” 

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war, not in an operation or in (fighting) rounds, but at war. This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours. I convened the heads of the security establishment and ordered – first of all – to clear out the communities that have been infiltrated by terrorists,” Netanyahu said.

He also called on Israelis to come together and achieve victory in the war.

At least 40 people have been killed since Hamas launched its Saturday morning surprise attack on Israel, the country’s emergency service said.

Another 779 people have been wounded, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.

Benjamin’s announcements came just hours after terrorists in Gaza began firing dozens of rockets into Israel. 

Hamas leader Mohammed Deif said this was in response to “the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque.” He also called on the other terrorist groups in Lebanon to join the fight. The IDG said, “There are quite a few locations in the south where terrorists are still present in the south.” Unitll Saturday noon, there were at least several towns that were controlled by terrorists.

The group expressed its intent to halt what it referred to as Israel’s unaccountable actions. 

“We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation (Israel). Their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over,” said the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip.

It stated, “We declare Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and within the initial 20-minute strike, we fired more than 5,000 rockets.”

A lot of sound of rockets in the air could be heard in Gaza and as far away as Tel Aviv, which is around 70 kilometres (40 miles) to the north. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas chaired an emergency meeting with top defence officials and released a statement saying that the people of his country have full right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops”, as per official news agency WAFA.

In the high-level meeting, Abbas directed officials “to provide protection for the Palestinian people and provide all that is necessary to bolster the resilience and steadfastness of the Palestinian people in facing the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation and settler gangs”.