A number of rocket barrages were seen being fired upon Israel from Gaza as the Palestinian Hamas declared war on Israel in a surprise assault. Sirens were sounded in Jerusalem following the attack. A series of explosions were also being heard along with the alarms simultaneously. According to the visuals that are doing rounds on social media, terrorists from Gaza invaded southern Israeli civilian cities and they are shooting whoever is coming in front of them.
According to the Middle East Observer, 'all of occupied Palestine is under fire'.
Hamas has breached the Gaza separation barrier and started a ground offensive in Israeli-occupied territories.
Israel Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said, "Israel is under a combined attack from Gaza during the Jewish holiday. Both by rockets and ground infiltration of Hamas terrorists. The situation is not simple but Israel will prevail."
According to a report of Reuters, a senior Hamas military commander, Mohammad Deif, announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media. He called on Palestinians everywhere to fight. He said that 5,000 rockets had been launched and added, "This is the day of the greatest battle end the last occupation on earth."
As per AFP, the sounds of at least three explosions were heard as Israel deployed anti-rocket defences against Hamas. A woman was killed in the attack while sirens blared in Jerusalem after rocket fire from Gaza.
According to Al Jazeera, the rocket fire began from multiple locations in Gaza starting at 06:30am local time (03:30 GMT).