Israel Declares War for First Time in 50 Years
After a massive surprise attack Saturday by the Hamas terrorist group, the state of Israel made it official on Sunday:
The country’s cabinet declared war on Hamas, authorizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch a “massive response” to the murderous onslaught, according to CNN.
It’s the first such declaration in Israel since the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when the country was almost destroyed by a surprise attack launched from Syria to Israel’s north and Egypt to the Jewish state’s south.
#BREAKING Israel declares war for first time since 1973 https://t.co/NCkvNxvg0H
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 8, 2023
The declaration comes after Hamas launched thousands of missiles and attacked communities in southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, a Hamas-run territory on the Mediterranean Sea at Israel’s border with Egypt.
The death toll of Israeli civilians and military personnel had passed 600 as of about 2 p.m. Sunday (7 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time), according to the Times of Israel.
🚨BREAKING: Israel security cabinet has voted to go to war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
Prime Minister Netanyahu had already declared that Israel was “at war” but according to Netanyahu’s office, the official vote unlocks “significant military… pic.twitter.com/AfgcTOqj2R
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) October 8, 2023
An unknown number of Israeli soldiers and civilians have also been taken prisoner.
A Hamas command told Al Jazeera that the goal of taking prisoners was to force Israel to release the Hamas terrorists it holds in its prisons.
But it’s unlikely Israel is going to be in the mood to negotiate any time soon.
Well before the cabinet voted for the declaration of war under the country’s Basic Law, Netanyahu used the word in an address to his country’s citizens.
“We will win this war, but the price will be unbearably heavy,” he said in a televised address Saturday night, according to the Times of Israel.
“Hamas wants to murder us all, murdering children and mothers in their homes, in their beds,” he said.
This morning, on Shabbat and a holiday, Hamas invaded Israeli territory and murdered innocent citizens including children and the elderly. Hamas has started a brutal and evil war.
We will be victorious in this war despite an unbearable price. This is a very difficult day for all…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 8, 2023
“What happened today has never been seen before in Israel and I will ensure it never happens again. The entire government supports this decision. The IDF will immediately use all its power to destroy Hamas’s capabilities,” he said.
“We will fight them to the bitter end and avenge this black day they plotted for Israel and its people.”
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