Current:Home > FinanceHorrors emerge from Hamas infiltration of Israel on Gaza border -Pinnacle Profit Strategies
Horrors emerge from Hamas infiltration of Israel on Gaza border
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:04:32
TEL AVIV, Israel -- Indiscriminate killing. Kidnappings. Homes raided and a music festival under attack. More than 900 Israelis have been killed as a result of the most devastating assault on Israel since the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
Hamas militants broke through the fences surrounding Gaza on Saturday morning , attacking Israeli soil by land, sea and air, using mechanized hang gliders and motorbikes to storm communities caught completely unaware.
"They came through the streets on pickup trucks with turrets on the back, spraying bullets, everything around them at the civilians walking up and down the street," Maj. Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the IDF in the city of Sderot, which was overwhelmed by Hamas and subsequently liberated, told ABC News' Ian Pannell. "Women with little babies. People dying on the ground."
Hamas fired at least 3,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel, targeting towns and cities in southern Israel.
MORE: Israel-Gaza live updates: IDF says Hamas fighters are 'hiding' in Israeli communities
The majority of the rockets were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, but, what is considered to be a major intelligence failure by the Israeli authorities, saw Hamas storm swathes of territory in Israel's south.
In the skies above the Supernova Festival, taking place near the kibbutz of Re'im -- approximately 3 miles from the Gaza border -- those rockets were the first sign of what was to come.
At least 260 people were killed there, according to the Israeli authorities, with video emerging of Israelis fleeing on foot across the desert and some being kidnapped and taken back to Gaza.
One of the attendees, Noam Manket, said that those who tried to flee in their cars were shot by Hamas gunmen. She fled on foot and is yet to hear from some of her closest friends who attended the festival with her.
"You just keep running because you realize that if you don't keep running, then you don't go back home," she told ABC News.
More than 100 Israeli citizens and soldiers are believed to have been taken hostage in Gaza. In a statement, Hamas has threatened to execute the hostages if the devastating bombardment of the Gaza strip, launched in response to the surprise attack. President Biden said Monday at least 11 Americans are among those killed, and more may have been kidnapped and taken hostage in Gaza.
Many families learned that their family members had been kidnapped after identifying them from videos shared on social media.
One of those taken was Karina Ashaev. Her sister, Sasha, described what it was like when she first saw her in a video online, bound and covered in blood as she was driven away on a motorbike.
"At first I saw this and didn't think it was her. I just swiped next," Sasha told ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman. "Her whole face was in blood, she was screaming. We recognized her by her nose, her brows, her chest. And then we know it was her."
MORE: Did Iran direct the Hamas attacks on Israel? Both US and Israel say no hard evidence
Uriel Bohbot, whose brother Elkana was also captured, can also only wait to hear for news.
"I can see that he's afraid he's so scared ... hopefully, he's gonna be alive," he told ABC News. "I don't know if he will die or live."
In the kibbutz of Be'eri, one of the largest in Israel, 108 bodies were discovered on Monday in the aftermath of the surprise Hamas attack. On the ground, the bodies of Israeli citizens littered the area, but more horrifying stories are expected to emerge as the authorities continue their recovery operations.
Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The Palestinian authorities report at least 687 people, including 140 children and 105 women, have been killed so far in the strikes. The IDF said on Monday they had hit over 1,500 military targets.
The death toll is expected to climb.
veryGood! (46781)
prev:A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
next:'Most Whopper
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Josh Stein’s gubernatorial campaign says it lost $50,000 through scam that targeted vendor
- Georgia judge rejects Trump bid to quash grand jury report and disqualify district attorney
- Mom of missing Arizona teen who surfaced after 4 years says family being harassed
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Flashing X installed on top of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco – without a permit from the city
- Defendant pleads not guilty in shotgun death of police officer in New Mexico
- Judi Dench says she can no longer see on film sets due to macular degeneration eye condition
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Ford, Chrysler among 1 million-plus vehicles recalled recently. Check car recalls here.
Ranking
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Fate of American nurse and child reportedly kidnapped in Haiti still unknown
- Bills' Damar Hamlin clears 'super big hurdle' in first padded practice since cardiac arrest
- After the death of his wife, actor Richard E. Grant vowed to find joy every day
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- France planning an evacuation of people seeking to leave Niger after the coup in its former colony
- 9 mass shootings over the weekend rock US cities, leaving 5 dead, 56 injured
- China's Hangzhou Zoo Addresses Claim That Their Bears Are Actually Humans Dressed in Costumes
Recommendation
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Clippers’ Amir Coffey arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, police say
Jill Biden says exercise including spin classes and jogging helps her find ‘inner strength’
Man sentenced to life in prison in killing of Mississippi sheriff’s lieutenant
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Beijing's worst flooding in a decade kills at least 2 as China grapples with remnants of Typhoon Doksuri
Tackle your medical debt with Life Kit
Michigan prosecutors charge Trump allies in felonies involving voting machines, illegal ‘testing’