Israel formally declared war this past Sunday against the Palestinian Hamas and ordered the complete siege of Gaza after the militant organization attacked several locations in Israel on Saturday.
The formal declaration comes after a large-scale surprise which left hundreds dead and prompted lethal retaliation with Israeli air strikes. As of Monday, it was reported that more than 1,100 people have been killed, at least 700 Israelis and 400 Palestinians.
Unknown is the fate of at least 100 Israeli civilian and soldiers that Hamas claimed to have captured and thousands of wounded on both sides.
In a video message shortly after Hamas sent a barrage of rockets and gunmen into Israel in a multipronged attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, “Citizens of Israel, we are war – not in an operation, not in rounds – at war.”
The declaration of war was stern warning of greater fighting ahead, and the possibility that Israel would launch a ground assault into Gaza.
Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group claimed to have taken captive more than 130 people – including soldiers, women, children and older adults - and brought them into Gaza to be traded for the release of thousands of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The Israeli military estimated 1,000 Hamas fighters took part in Saturday’s initial attack, who stated the gunmen rampaged for hours, gunning down civilians and snatching people in towns, along highways and at a festival attended by thousands in the desert. The rescue service Zaka said it removed about 260 bodies from the festival.
In response, Israelis reported hitting more than 800 targets in Gaza so far and leveled much of the town of Beit Hanoun, a location that Israeli Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari indicated Hamas was using as a staging ground for attacks.
According to the U.N., as of Sunday, the Israeli airstrikes had destroyed 159 housing units across Gaza and severely damaged 1,210 others and the number of displaced Gazans was up to 123,000.
While the declaration of war by Israel’s Security Cabinet was considered largely symbolic, Yohanan Plesner, the head of the Israel Democracy Institute, said it “demonstrates that the government thinks we are entering a more lengthy, intense and significant period of war.”
The Security Cabinet also approved “significant military steps,” giving the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a wide mandate aiming to destroy Hamas.
Israelis are still reeling from the Hamas assault which broke through Israel’s security fence surrounding the Gaza Strip early Saturday. Using motorcycles and pickup trucks, even paragliders and speedboats on the coast, they moved into nearby Israeli communities — as many as 22 locations.