A war is breaking out in Israel... On Saturday morning, Hamas launched a war against us. However sad it is to admit it, the terrorist leaders managed to take our army by surprise. Under the cover of intense rocket salvos on towns and villages in the south and center of the country, hundreds of terrorists from sea, air and land broke through from the Gaza Strip into the depths of Israeli territory. Some of them flew through the air on motorized hang gliders, some infiltrated from the sea, mostly in the Zikim Beach area, but the majority infiltrated by land — through tunnels and through the barriers surrounding the Gaza Strip. The terrorists, may the memory of whom be erased, managed to infiltrate army bases, dozens of localities and several towns, killing and taking hostages. By now, the security forces have succeeded in eliminating the vast majority of the terrorists who infiltrated deep into our territory, dozens of them captured, although heavy fighting continues in several places. Much worse, in two places — Kibbutz Be’eri and the town of Ofakim — the terrorists are holding buildings with Israeli hostages.
To make matters worse, Hamas bosses report that they have captured dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians — men, women, children and the elderly. I believe that they are also talking about the dead bodies of our people, which the enemies took with them to the Gaza Strip.
The death toll is horrific. According to official figures, there are already at least two hundred dead soldiers and civilians! More than a thousand people are wounded, among them at least two hundred in serious condition.
In the morning, terrorists managed to capture the headquarters of the Gaza Division, later our fighters managed to recapture it.
Currently, tens of thousands of regular army soldiers are already concentrated in the south of the country. There is an intensive conscription of tens of thousands of reservists.
As we have already written, the Hamas attack was launched under the cover of incredibly powerful rocket salvos.
In fact, over 4 morning hours — from 6:30 to 10:30 am, Hamas, and possibly Islamic Jihad, launched a record 2,200 rockets into Israel.
Rocket attacks continued non-stop from the morning, targeting large cities on the coast and the capital, where shelters were also opened. During the massive attack, Hamas terrorists managed to capture and hold a police station in Sderot for most of the day — until the evening! Until noon, Hamas terrorists moved without obstruction through the streets of Israeli cities and towns.
By evening, all of them had been liquidated. Even in Sderot, there seems to be no more living terrorists left, but our fighters and police are still searching for lurking terrorists.
The Israel Defense Forces Air Force is demolishing towers and high-rise buildings in the Gaza Strip. Electricity supply to the Gaza Strip has been cut off by government decision.
The biggest miracle at this point is that Hizbullah did not take advantage of the terrible failure of the government and the IDF and attack from the north. After all, the power of this terrorist organization is many times greater than that of Hamas.
Each of us, including of course women and children, can contribute to our common effort to save the people of Israel. It can be physical help — with so many wounded, a lot of blood donations are needed and, although the hospitals are full of willing donors now, blood will be needed tomorrow and the day after tomorrow...
And it can certainly be a spiritual help. We believe that more intensive reading of Psalms, more generous donations to charity, more diligence in
And it can certainly be a spiritual help. We believe that more intensive recitation of Psalms, more generous donations to charity, more diligence in the fulfillment of the commandments of the Torah now also works for the benefit of all the people of Israel, including the situation of our loved ones captured, the healing of our wounded and the well-being of our members of the security forces, may their names and the memory of them be blessed as they fight now against a cruel enemy.
Please note: the enemies are spreading many horrific rumors through the networks, many false news stories. Do not fall for the lies. We on our part will, with G-d’s help, bring you verified and accurate information, as well as evaluation of what awaits us.