Tipsheet

As Israeli PM Netanyahu Declares State of War, Disturbing Accounts Emerge Along the Gaza Strip

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  October 07, 2023 1:45 PM

In the early morning, Hamas terrorists launched a massive attack from the Gaza Strip. It was accompanied by launching of thousands of rockets, with their operatives infiltrating Israeli territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was in a state of war in a meeting with his cabinet at the outset of the attacks: 


Since this morning, the State of Israel has been at war. Our first objective is to clear out the hostile forces that infiltrated our territory and restore the security and quiet to the communities that have been attacked. 

The second objective, at the same time, is to exact an immense price from the enemy, within the Gaza Strip as well. The third objective is to reinforce other fronts so that nobody should mistakenly join this war. 

We are at war. In war, one needs to be level-headed. I call on all citizens of Israel to unite in order to achieve our highest goal – victory in the war. 

He later posted a message to the citizens of Israel: 


Citizens of Israel, 

We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war. This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours. 

The initial response from the nation’s biggest ally, the United States, was atrocious, which lingered for hours until Joe Biden finally offered an official response, declaring our unwavering support for Israel, our willingness to provide whatever need necessary, and reinforcing the nation’s right to self-defense from terror attacks. 

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Disturbing reports are coming from Southern Israel, where Palestinian terrorists were reportedly going house-to-house and kidnapping civilians. There are videos and images of these events, which we will not post since some include clips of a dead woman being paraded around and spit on by these terrorists. 

More links are here, but there’s a content warning. 


Israeli soldiers were also killed, but an exact body count is unavailable right now, according to IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Daniel Hagari: 

Hamas took hostages and captives. There are also deaths of IDF soldiers. We don't have an exact number yet - we are at war, Dozens of terrorists infiltrated on foot a large number of locations. There was also a naval infiltration bringing the terrorists to Zikim. There are also a large number of breaches in the security fence. 

We are fighting in 22 locations. There is no community in Southern Israel where we do not have forces, in all the towns. There are communities that have been rid of terrorists, but we want to finish additional scans of the area before declaring so.  In Ofakim and Beeri there are hostage situations, there are special forces there with senior commanders and live fire fights are going on there. 

There are deaths - including deaths of IDF soldiers, when we have all the numbers we will give them. 

We are engaged in combat in the Gaza division, including the combat-assistance of fighter jets, we are in control there. 

We have roadblocks with the Israel Police in all areas. 

There are strikes by the Air Force in several locations. UAVS, scanners, and fighter jets are striking in the area of the fence. Hundreds of such strikes were carried out - hundreds of deaths, including many terrorists. 

The main effort is to eliminate all the terrorists on the security fence, all those who infiltrated Israel and are trying to return to the Gaza Strip. First of all we will strike from the air, and then also with heavy ground means. 

There are a lot of fake news - it was said that Nimrod Aloni (a top general) was kidnapped, this is not true. They said that Avi Rosenfeld (Commander of the Gaza Division) was kidnapped, that's not true. 

Our goals are that all the terrorists will be killed, that all the communities will be rid of terrorists. Until then, continue to shut yourself in the houses in the area near the Gaza Strip. 

A wide mobilization of reserves has begun - there are 4 divisions that we are immediately bringing down to Gaza. 31 regular battalions are already in the area around the Gaza Strip and Southern Israel. Tanks have also been brought down to the Gaza Strip. 

In the Northern Command we are on high alert, there are currently no events there but we are ready for any event and whoever attacks us in the entire northern arena - will pay a very heavy price. Our focus is on Gaza but we are on high alert in case we encounter any incident, we currently do not have such information. 

The IDF is striking all Hamas and PIJ targets in the Gaza Strip. Wherever there are Hamas terrorists they will be found and eliminated, they have no immunity. We are also striking high profile targets. 

The Central Command is also being bolstered with regular battalions and preparations are made for riots. 

We will do a very sharp and thourough review. We are currently busy regaining control of the area, striking broadly and especially taking care of the area around the Gaza Strip. 

The citizens of the State of Israel are require great resilience, with an emphasis on the residents of the Gaza Strip. These are difficult hours of fighting - but at the end we will reach full security in the Gaza Strip. 

The level of sophistication is also catching the eye of experts. It helps when Iran foots the bill regarding training and equipment, which Sarah pointed out. Biden gave Iran $6 billion before the outbreak of this new war.

We’ll keep you updated. 

Where you shouldn't go for updates is MSNBC, which unsurprisingly has entered full Al Jazeera mode amid these attacks: