7
Oct
Israel-Hamas war
Early morning on 7 October, a conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas started.
At 6:30 AM local time, Hamas launched rockets into southern Israel. The exact location of many rocket strikes is unknown. At 7:40 AM, Hamas militants started incursion and took over several Israeli towns. Up to 100 Israelis were taken hostage. Hundreds of young people at an all-night dance festival in southern Israel were under fire.
Hamas must have planned this offensive for many months, and it is unclear why Israeli intelligence appears to have had no idea it was coming. It seems to be a catastrophic intelligence failure by Israel.
The same morning, Israel’s air force retaliated with airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. By nightfall on Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) estimated there were still 200-300 Palestinian militants inside Israel. IDF conducted operations against Hamas fighters inside the infiltrated towns.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, formally declared war on Hamas the next day.
Palestinians in Gaza shared images of text messages sent by the Israeli military to people in the Beit Hanoun area North of the strip that ordered them to leave their homes before the airstrikes. Although PM Netanyahu has warned Palestinians in Gaza to “get out of there now”, there is nowhere for those in the blockaded territory to escape. Israel called up army reservists and launched a wave of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip – home to 2.3 million people.
The exact reasons for the attack remain unclear. However, there has been growing violence for months in the West Bank. According to The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, armed settlers have attacked Palestinian villages, and militants in the West Bank have attacked soldiers and settlers, followed by repeated IDF raids in Palestinian cities.
During the past week, some Jews have prayed inside the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City while Israeli police on Friday imposed entry restrictions, only allowing Muslim worshippers over 70 to enter the mosque. The area around the mosque is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and is the third holiest place for Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. To Jews, it is known as Temple Mount, regarded as the site of the biblical Jewish temple. Jews are not permitted to pray inside the al-Aqsa compound; to do so is highly provocative. Mentioned in Sura 17, verse 1 of the Quran, the mosque is linked to the story of Muhammad’s Isra – the night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem – that in part confirms him as the last and most authoritative of the prophets for Muslims. Hamas has called its current offensive Operation al-Aqsa Deluge (or Flood). On their part, Israel calls it Operation "Iron Swords".
The Georgian government has scheduled daily charter flights for people who wish to leave the war zone. According to the Embassy of Georgia in Israel, there are about 120 thousand Georgians and Georgian Jews in Israel. Among them are temporary visitors who have gone there for health treatment, work, pilgrimage, or relatives to see.
