Watan – The “Al-Aqsa Deluge” operation kicked off with the resistance firing thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli cities and settlements. Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation reported that Hamas militants infiltrated Israel via air, land, and sea.
In retaliation, Israel’s Channel 13 conveyed that the Israeli military launched the “Iron Swords” operation against the Gaza Strip, as cited by “Al Jazeera”.
Video footage depicted a blaze engulfing numerous vehicles in the city of Ashkelon. Israel’s defense forces then announced the activation of warning sirens across central Israel, following the missile launches from Gaza. Alarm sirens also blared in Tel Aviv, Rehovot, Rishon LeZion, and Palmachim airbase south of Tel Aviv.
تغطية صحفية: "فيديو متداول من صفحات مستوطنين لاقتحام مقاومين مستوطنات الغلاف". pic.twitter.com/pvAtoUt8Rc
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) October 7, 2023
Meanwhile, clashes erupted between Palestinian resistance and Israeli forces at several settlements, described by observers as a historic confrontation. Images displayed an Israeli military vehicle ablaze near the border fence east of Gaza. Eyewitnesses stated that the resistance captured all soldiers aboard a tank.
📸هروب جماعي للمستوطنين بعد اقتراب مقاومين من مكان إقامتهم لحفل في غلاف غزة. #طوفان_الأقصى pic.twitter.com/KqKpEqlf0O
— وطن. يغرد خارج السرب (@watanserb_news) October 7, 2023
Israel’s renowned “Magen David Adom” emergency service confirmed significant casualties, the exact numbers of which are yet to be determined. Al Jazeera reported that the Palestinian resistance transported a considerable number of slain Israeli soldiers into the Gaza Strip. There are ongoing reports about captured Israeli soldiers.
Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation noted that Hamas resistance infiltrated an Israeli police station in the Sderot settlement, leading to injuries. The Al-Qassam Brigades released initial photos of their “elite” forces inside the Gaza envelope settlements. Israeli media reported dozens of Hamas resistance still roaming the settlement streets.
“Haaretz” quoted a police source, stating that Palestinian militants are entrenched with hostages in a residence in the Ofakim settlement near Be’er Sheva. Hebrew radio broadcasts said that Al-Qassam Brigades militants reached regions beyond the Gaza envelope.
The resistance managed to seize several Israeli military vehicles, successfully transporting them back to the Gaza Strip. Other footage depicted settlers fleeing en masse as resistance approached an event venue in the Gaza envelope.
Muhammad Deif Announces the Launch of the Al-Aqsa Deluge Operation
The General Commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Muhammad Deif, announced the launch of the “Al-Aqsa Deluge” operation in response to Israeli transgressions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, West Bank, Jerusalem, prisons, and the blockade on Gaza.
In an audio message, Deif claimed that Al-Qassam launched 5,000 missiles in the first phase of the operation targeting Israeli settlements, occupied cities, and military bases. The operation aims to resist the occupation and respond to its crimes in occupied Jerusalem, from land confiscation to Palestinian evictions, Al-Aqsa Mosque assaults, home raids, land theft in the occupied West Bank, and imposing a siege on Gaza.
Deif called upon the residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem to participate in the battle against the occupation, urging all factions to join and security forces to take up arms against Israeli forces and settlers. He also appealed to Islamic resistance in Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and elsewhere in the Arab world to join the significant battle, asserting, “The time has come for all Arab and Islamic powers to unify and expel the occupation from our holy sites and lands.”