PM says Israel at war after 70 killed in attack from Gaza

At least 70 people have been killed in Israel after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its biggest attack in years.

Militants crossed into Israel from Gaza under the cover of heavy rocket fire – and have since taken dozens of Israelis captive.

Some hostages – both soldiers and civilians – were taken back to Gaza.

Israel has responded with a wave of air strikes on targets in Gaza killing 198 people, Palestinian officials say.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “at war” and vowed that Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, will “pay a price it has never known”.

“This morning Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the state of Israel and its citizens,” he said in a video address.

This is one of the most serious escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years.

The attack by Hamas saw fighters cross the perimeter fence at just after dawn. At the same time, barrages of rockets were launched from Gaza – some reaching as far as the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

How the gunmen managed to penetrate one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world is unclear.

The Israeli military has said that dozens of fighter jets are carrying out air strikes on Hamas sites in Gaza, and it has hit 17 Hamas military compounds. It also said it has mobilized tens of thousands of reservists.

The Palestinian health ministry says 198 people have been killed in Israeli strikes. and another 1,610 have been wounded. Medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said a nurse and an ambulance driver were killed in Israeli strikes on two hospitals in Gaza.

The rocket barrages from Gaza – the biggest attack by Hamas on Israel in years – began just after dawn on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath and the day of the festival of Simchat Torah.

As sirens sounded across Israel, the IDF announced that “terrorists” had infiltrated Israeli territory “in a number of different locations”.

People in towns close to Gaza have been calling in to Israeli news stations saying they were trapped in their homes, as militants entered their towns and villages.

In the town of Sderot, only 1.6km (1 mile) from Gaza, footage posted online appeared to show a group of heavily armed Palestinian militants dressed in black fatigues driving around in a pick-up truck. In one video, the same militants seemed to be exchanging fire with Israeli forces on the street.

The BBC understands that dozens of hostages, both military and civilian, have been taken by Hamas – an unprecedented development.

Some are thought to be holed up in some of the small towns near the Gaza Strip ,while others have been taken back into Gaza.

Hamas claims it has captured senior officers from Israel’s army.

Footage is also circulating of Palestinians in Gaza driving Israeli military vehicles.

More than 900 Israelis have been wounded in the Hamas attacks, Israel’s health ministry says. The MDA ambulance service says about 70 people are dead.

The rocket barrages continued throughout Saturday morning, with thousands of projectiles launched towards Israel. Hospitals in the southern city of Ashkelon and central city of Beer Sheva are treating casualties.

Residents say they do not remember a situation like this for a long time, while streets in Tel Aviv have been locked down and are empty.

“Restaurants, cafes, everything is locked down and there is a heavy feeling of surprise, of shock and of fear from what is still expected to happen,” English author and journalist Gideon Levy told the BBC.

“When the first rockets fell, I was still jogging in the park, the noise was terrible.”

The leader of one regional council in southern Israel, Ofir Liebstein, was killed in an exchange of fire with militants when he went to defend his community.

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement. “I convened the heads of the security establishment and ordered – first of all – to clear out the communities that have been infiltrated by terrorists. This currently is being carried out.

“At the same time, I have ordered an extensive mobilization of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”

A senior Hamas military commander announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.

“This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on Earth,” Mohammed Deif said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – a political rival of Hamas – supported the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops”.

A major investigation has been launched as to how Israeli intelligence failed to see the well-coordinated Hamas attack coming, Israeli government officials have told the BBC.

There has been strong international condemnation to the Hamas attacks, with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly saying the UK “unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians” and “the UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself”.

Nato condemned the “terrorist attacks” from Hamas against Israel. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as “terrorism in its most despicable form” – while the US said it “will work to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself”.

Iran has backed the Palestinian attack, saying it congratulated the fighters, while Qatar’s foreign ministry said Israel alone was responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence.