Smoke billows after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City (Photo: Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA/JERUSALEM, (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) showered Israel with thousands of rockets on Saturday in a rare surprise attack, which was responded by massive Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and punitive measures, including power outages. At least 313 Palestinians were killed and 1,990 wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza, according to statistics released by the Gaza-based health ministry. At least 300 Israelis were killed and more than 1,800 wounded in the Hamas assault, which also included infiltration ground attacks on southern Israel, figures released by the Israeli health ministry show. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held an emergency meeting attended by senior officials who stressed the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against Israeli forces and settlers. In a national address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel is "in a state of war" and ordered the full mobilisation of reservists.

DEADLY CONFLICT

Backed by rockets, dozens of Hamas militants entered Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing and kidnapping Israelis in a surprise early morning attack. Hamas rockets landed as far away as Jerusalem, where air raid sirens sounded. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed that some Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken hostage by Hamas. Hamas commander Mohammad Deif said the attack was in response to Israel's blockade of Gaza, its frequent raids on the West Bank in the past year, the attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound - a holy site for Muslims and Jews - Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and the expansion of Israeli settlements. He called on other Palestinians to join the struggle. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, another armed Palestinian group, said its militants had joined Hamas in the attack.

Videos and photographs posted on social media showed masked Palestinian militants roaming in jeeps through the streets of the southern Israeli town of Sderot, where the shooting took place. An Israeli army spokesman said on Saturday that several Palestinian gunmen had entered towns in southern Israel and clashed with Israeli soldiers. Israeli media said Palestinian gunmen had taken control of at least three Jewish settlements near the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities asked residents of southern Israel not to leave their homes. In response to the attack, the Israeli army carried out dozens of airstrikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, destroying buildings including a residential tower with about 100 apartments. As the main supplier of electricity to the Palestinian enclave, Israel also cut electricity to the territories, plunging them into darkness after nightfall. Gaza City residents ran into the streets to buy daily necessities. In the northeastern Gaza Strip, hundreds of civilians fled their homes with blankets and food for fear of military escalation.

UNLIKELY TO END SOON

The attack represents the most serious conflict between Hamas and Israel since May 2021, during which the two sides fought for 11 days, resulting in the deaths of at least 256 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel. Analysts believe the current clash is unlikely to end anytime soon, as Hamas appears well prepared to wage a protracted conflict. Hours after the massive Hamas offensive, Netanyahu gave a televised speech on Saturday night, vowing to "avenge this black day." He said the Israel Defense Forces would "immediately use all their strength to destroy Hamas' capabilities," warning of "difficult days ahead." Egypt, a longtime broker of peace between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, held talks with France on Saturday to resolve the ongoing conflict. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi warned in a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that further violence and escalation could drag the region into a "vicious circle of tension" and undermine regional stability and security.

NEGATIVE IMPACT ON ISRAELI-ARAB RECONCILIATION

The attack came on Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday that marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and almost coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, which began on October 6, 1973, between Israel and the Coalition. Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. The latest round of conflict followed frequent Israeli airstrikes on the West Bank over the past year, which often resulted in Palestinian casualties. Israel said the actions were necessary to detain Palestinian militants involved in attacks against Israelis. The military conflict also comes as Israel seeks to normalize its relations with Saudi Arabia. Israel, mediated by the United States, has been in contact with Saudi Arabia over a potential peace deal between the two countries. After meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in New York on September 20, Netanyahu said that normalization of relations between his country and Saudi Arabia could be "within reach."

For Israel, normalising relations with Arab countries has remained an important strategic objective for years as it seeks to improve the geopolitical environment. So far, six Arab countries have normalized relations with Israel, including Egypt and Jordan, which established diplomatic relations with Israel in the 1970s and 1990s, and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, which have agreed to normalize relations. with Israel under the Abrahamic Accords in 2020. Hamas has repeatedly stated that it condemns any progress in normalizing relations between Arab countries and Israel, stating that normalization of relations between Arab countries and Israel in all forms is unacceptable and will necessarily harm the Palestinian cause. Ding Long, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, said that the protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict will negatively affect the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, adding that Saudi Arabia may suspend the normalization of relations with Israel in the short term.

(Xinhua/USA)