Hamas attacked Israel in a coordinated attack whose sophistication was not lost on observers. It was an assault out of the ordinary for this group, with rocket attacks followed by an air, sea, and land attack by its terrorist operatives. Hamas used paragliders to enter Israeli territory (via Associated Press):
‼️ #Israel Defense Forces: Fighter jets recently attacked two high-rise buildings in the #Gaza Strip that were used by senior #Hamas members for terrorist operations. The Hamas terrorist organization places its military forces in the heart of the civilian population of the Gaza… pic.twitter.com/6aPeCK4xmt
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 7, 2023
Latest numbers:
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) October 7, 2023
-300+ Israelis killed
-1,500+ wounded
-3,000+ rockets fired into Israel
-Dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians taken hostage and now are POWs in Gaza
-252 Palestinians dead
-1,000+ wounded
The war continues at this hour.
#BREAKING: Reports confirming that Hamas’s attack on southern Israel today included the rape of young girls.
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) October 7, 2023
Backed by a barrage of rockets, dozens of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. A stunned Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, with its prime minister saying the country is now at war with Hamas and vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.”
In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Gaza border. In some places, they roamed for hours, gunning down civilians and soldiers as Israel’s military scrambled to muster a response. Gunbattles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns and occupied a police station in a third.
Israeli media, citing rescue service officials, said at least 250 people were killed and 1,500 wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in decades. At least 232 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and at least 1,700 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Hamas fighters took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza, a deeply sensitive issue for Israel, in harrowing scenes posted on social media videos.
[…]
In the southern Gaza city of Rafah, an Israeli airstrike late Saturday flattened a home, killing 12 members of the Abu Qouto family, neighbors said. Ten members of a family in the northern town of Jebalya were killed in another airstrike, relatives said. It was not known why the homes were targeted.
The strength, sophistication and timing of the Saturday morning attack shocked Israelis. Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing Gaza, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast without resistance from the military.
In some towns, a trail of civilians’ bodies lay where they had encountered the advancing gunmen. On the road outside the town of Sderot, a bloodied woman slumped dead in the seat of her car. At least nine people gunned down at a bus shelter in the town were laid out on stretchers on the street, their bags still on the curb nearby. One woman, screaming, embraced the body of a family member sprawled under a sheet next to a toppled motorcycle; as she was led away, she picked up the dead person’s helmet from the ground nearby.
In amateur video, hundreds of terrified young people who had been dancing at a rave fled for their lives after Hamas militants entered the area and began firing at them. Israeli media said dozens of people were killed.
The initial hours of the assault saw hundreds of Israelis murdered, thousands wounded, and dozens more kidnapped by Hamas operatives. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to turn all Hamas hiding spots in Gaza into rubble, warning civilians to flee. He also vowed to wipe out Hamas in Gaza essentially. The attacks on innocent Israelis in Southern Israel reportedly included the rape of young girls.
And yet, the liberal media reaction to Hamas’ terrorist attack that sparked a new war is as expected—they blame Israel or insinuate that they had it coming. The New York Times, CNN, and MSNBC were all had their ‘those poor Palestinian terrorists’ talking points.
MSNBC's @MattMcBradley on Hamas terror attack: "I couldn’t think of a better gift for Benjamin Netanyahu right now than this kind of incursion ... This is a very big gift for Benjamin Netanyahu." pic.twitter.com/9E8NeUdAJV
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 7, 2023
MSNBC's @AymanM: Netanyahu leads "the most far, extremist, Jewish nationalist government that it has existed ... What are you going to do? Are you going to re-occupy the Gaza Strip? Repopulate it with settlements? Are you going in there to try to kill every Hamas leader? They’ve… pic.twitter.com/QpZFaa0O9d
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 7, 2023
In which an MSNBC personality says that innocent Jews deserved to be slaughtered by Palestinian terrorists. There must be a reckoning at NBC over this.pic.twitter.com/HOvNvG5mAs
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) October 7, 2023
I still can’t get the images of dead women and children laying in the street out of my head and this is the take from the New York Times today… pic.twitter.com/HYeIA9XNHf
— AG (@AGHamilton29) October 7, 2023
CNN/New Yorker analyst Susan Glasser blames Netanyahu for Israelis being terrorized by Hamas: "Israel...has been consumed by...domestic political rifts over [his] plans...to change the...judiciary....It may be...there was an opportunity by Israel's opponents to...take advantage" pic.twitter.com/jyEV3RUPik
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 7, 2023
Meanwhile, The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin probably had the worst take: the chaos in Congress by Republicans might have led to this attack. I’m dead serious—she posted this:
How about this: With US House in chaos and US military promotions on hold, Hamas struck. Republicans' weakness invites terror.
— Jennifer Truthful, Not Neutral Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) October 7, 2023
You are a heinous traitor to your people. https://t.co/QSjsvPeT8r
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) October 7, 2023
If only Trump were in jail Hamas would have never launched this attack https://t.co/WOm5pPjY6Z
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 7, 2023
There might be some chaos in Congress, but I doubt this contributed to this horrific terror attack, Jen, but nice try.
There will be more nauseating takes like this in the coming days.
Rashida Tlaib still hasn’t commented on Hamas invading Israel
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) October 7, 2023
Earlier this year, @RashidaTlaib called Israel and “apartheid state.” She also held an event mourning the “catastrophe” of Israel’s founding pic.twitter.com/mi6KMQ8ZUw
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