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Israeli forces launch artillery fire towards southern Lebanon from the border zone in northern Israel on Monday, while Hezbollah denied involvement in clashes or "any infiltration attempt" into Israel.
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Israeli forces launch artillery fire towards southern Lebanon from the border zone in northern Israel on Monday, while Hezbollah denied involvement in clashes or "any infiltration attempt" into Israel. (JALAA MAREY - AFP / Getty Images)

The Start of a War: Recapping the Attacks on Israel This Past Weekend

 By Johnathan Jones  October 9, 2023 at 11:18am
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Israel is at war for the first time in five decades after Hamas terrorists launched a well-coordinated attack on the country from the ground, from the sea and by air, beginning before sunrise on Saturday morning.

Decades of keeping the group at bay through small engagements and measured counterstrokes ended when the week-long Jewish holiday Sukkot concluded with the Israeli people being met by a barrage of thousands of rockets that killed civilians and military personnel.

Armed militants also crossed Israel’s borders from the Gaza Strip both on the ground and through the air.

The human toll of the conflict is expected to climb while Israel prepares itself for an all-out and prolonged military campaign.

A Timeline of Saturday’s Events and a Declaration of War

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The rocket attacks began at 6:30 a.m. local time and before the Israeli military could respond, its defenses were briefly overwhelmed.

Peace turned to chaos at a music festival in Kibbutz Re’im close to the Gaza Strip when Hamas militants evaded Israeli radar systems by encroaching into the country with the use of gliders and armed drones.

WARNING: Some viewers might find the following videos disturbing.

Hundreds were killed or wounded by gunfire at the concert. Others were kidnapped and taken back to Gaza. Some of them are reported to be American citizens.

According to ABC News, nine Americans had been counted among the dead as of Monday morning.

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Terrorists also went door-to-door killing entire families and abducting others. Disturbing videos that were shared on social media also appeared to show Israeli women being taken as trophies.

According to the Israeli Defense Forces, more than 700 Israelis were dead as of Sunday evening while another 2,150 were wounded.

A total of 3,284 rockets were fired from Gaza, the IDF said.

Israeli forces were quick to strike back from the air by midday on Saturday while military reservists were called to duty.

Buildings inside Gaza that were used to store and fire rockets were razed within hours of the attack.

The IDF confirmed on Sunday that a mosque was destroyed and also shared a video of invaders being taken out by its air defenses.

Hamas routinely operates from inside areas such as hospitals, schools and mosques in order to garner sympathy from Israel’s enemies.

The attack from Hamas is unprecedented in its scope and organization and has been called Israel’s 9/11 by the country’s leaders, who have declared war.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said on Saturday, “Israel is facing brutal terror attacks, the likes of which we have never seen before. This is our 9/11. The civilized world must stand with Israel and with our right to self defense.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear his country was in a state of “war” that it is prepared to win.

“This is not a so-called military operation, not another round of fighting, but war,” Netanyahu said in his first public remarks.

Iran’s Role in the Attacks

Hamas claimed within hours of the surprise attack that it was armed by Iran. The group’s spokesman Ghazi Hamad told the BBC that Iran “gave its support to the Palestinian terror group to launch its surprise multi-front attack on Israel on Saturday.”

On Sunday afternoon, The Wall Street Journal reported that the attack was actually planned by Hamas with the help of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The newspaper claimed the attacks had been carefully coordinated since and Saturday’s violence was agreed upon last Monday by all parties at a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon.

The Journal reported:

“Details of the operation were refined during several meetings in Beirut attended by IRGC officers and representatives of four Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas, which holds power in Gaza, and Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group and political faction in Lebanon, they said.”

“The IRGC’s broader plan is to create a multi-front threat that can strangle Israel from all sides — Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the north and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, according to the senior Hamas and Hezbollah members and an Iranian official.”

Israel has vowed to strike back at Iran’s leadership if the connection is confirmed, the report stated.

The country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei celebrated the Hamas attacks on X (formerly Twitter) in a post that was flagged but not taken down by Elon Musk, who deemed it approbate to keep up as it is in the public’s interest to see.

“God willing, the cancer of the usurper Zionist regime will be eradicated at the hands of the Palestinian people and the Resistance forces throughout the region,” Khamenei wrote alongside a video that appears to show festival goers in Kibbutz Re’im running for their lives.

America’s Response to and Role in the Conflict

The Biden administration initially called for restraint from both sides of the conflict in a tweet that was quickly taken down.

Biden was then ushered out in front of the cameras, where he said he had spoken to Netanyahu and also said his administration supports Israel.

“Terrorism is never justified,” Biden said. “Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation. My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”

Biden held a barbecue at the White House the following day that drew condemnation from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley and others, given American citizens are being held hostage:

In August, the Biden administration agreed to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian assets that had been sitting in a frozen bank account in South Korea, Reuters reported. In exchange, Iran freed five Americans who were being held captive in the country.

Those defending the asset release have claimed the funds have not been used to help Hamas in its stunning, multi-pronged attack on Israeli civilians and military forces.

As NBC News’ Kristin Welker noted during an interview with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, money is “fungible.”

In her probe about the billions of dollars released to the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, she noted, “So, Iran may have known this money is coming and used other funds to help fund this attack.”

Blinken replied, “Iran has unfortunately always used and focused its funds on supporting terrorism. On supporting groups like Hamas.”

He further argued that Iran is only allowed to use its unfrozen assets for “humanitarian purposes.”

The Pentagon has sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the Mediterranean led by the Navy’s newest carrier — the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement “The U.S. maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this deterrence posture if required,” The Associated Press reported.

Austin added that the military “will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions. The first security assistance will begin moving today and arriving in the coming days.”

What’s Next for Israel

Israel has swiftly defeated heavily militarized nations on the battlefield over the last eight decades but Saturday’s attacks and the war against terror present a new challenge.

The designation of war signifies the IDF will no longer respond to rocket attacks and other acts of violence from Gaza and the West Bank through precision strikes but could actually occupy both areas for the foreseeable future to root out and kill those responsible for the deaths of its people.

It is unclear how far the country’s leadership is willing to go to find those who funded, planned, and carried out the attacks. The coming days and weeks will also show if Israeli leaders are willing to strike in Lebanon, Jordan or Syria if necessary — or if the country could take the war to Tehran.

As of Monday evening, the IDF had cut off both Gaza and the West Bank from the rest of the world, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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Johnathan Jones
Staff Writer
Johnathan Jones has worked as a reporter, an editor, and producer in radio, television and digital media.
Johnathan "Kipp" Jones has worked as an editor and producer in radio and television. He is a proud husband and father.




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