The IDF has launched Operation “Swords of Iron” in response to a massive attack from the Gaza Strip that involved also paragliders, unmanned aircraft and speedboats.
In the morning on Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinian militant movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel: approximately 2,200 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory while a number of terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory in southern Israel, as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.
Multiple explosions were heard over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and in southern Israel, some of those probably caused by the interceptions of incoming rockets by the Israeli Iron Dome batteries. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hamas have taken “hostages and prisoners of war”.
At 20.04GMT, the death toll in Israel had risen to 250; according to Israel’s emergency medical service another 1,500 people were injured, with 270 more in serious condition. According to the reports, militants have also killed or kidnapped unarmed non-combatants including women, children and elderly.
The multi-dimensional assault, by sea, land and air, with paragliders, unmanned aircraft and ships, was carried out on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
The first moments of the infiltration of a number of Qassam Brigades fighters using motorized hang gliders to infiltrate southern Israel. pic.twitter.com/CVUz5u9pqw
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 7, 2023
🇮🇱 Footage of an unnamed speedboat attempting to infiltrate the Israeli coast and an Israeli warship following it has surfaced online#Israeli #israel #izrael #gaza pic.twitter.com/hvSCTsZMgP
— Intermarium 24 (@intermarium24) October 7, 2023
🇮🇱 Footage of an unnamed speedboat attempting to infiltrate the Israeli coast and an Israeli warship following it has surfaced online#Israeli #israel #izrael #gaza pic.twitter.com/hvSCTsZMgP
— Intermarium 24 (@intermarium24) October 7, 2023
In response, the IDF has launched Operation “Swords of Iron”.
“Swords of Iron” – attached is documentation from the Israeli Air Force deployment pic.twitter.com/XhVUQrG3nZ
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 7, 2023
The Israeli Air Force has been sharing constant updates about its air strikes in the Gaza strip on social media. A partly blurred clip shows F-16C Barak being loaded with a 2,000lb GBU-31 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) bomb along with AIM-9M and Python-4 (or -5) air-to-air missiles. An F-15 is also visible.
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Among the targets hit by the IAF aircraft, there are the Palestine Tower, hosting residential apartments and media offices in Gaza City, vehicles and command centers, as well as sites containing military infrastructure located in mosques: according to the service, the terrorists are using hiding in religious sites, and deliberately place its military assets in the heart of the civilian population.
Additional footage being released from Gaza of rockets launched towards Tel Aviv from Gaza this evening. pic.twitter.com/jhcmkj8nbv
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) October 7, 2023
The Palestinian health ministry said that 232 Palestinians had been killed and 1,697 injured.
Attached are aerial photographs of the four multi-story buildings that were struck today pic.twitter.com/uAK8mkJAK6
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 7, 2023
The situation is extremely dynamic and the extent of the response by the IDF is still not clear, although a ground operation is almost certain. Netanyahu vowed to turn all Hamas hideouts in Gaza to “rubble”, telling residents of the besieged enclave to “leave now”.
BREAKING: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Palestinian civilians in Gaza to “leave now” because the Israeli military is going to “turn all Hamas hiding places into rubble”
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 7, 2023
US President Joe Biden said his administration’s support of Israel’s security is “rock solid and unwavering.”
Whatever, the failure of the Israeli intelligence in anticipating the attack is pretty evident, possibly pointing to a significant external support, to plan, design and execute such a huge operation. All the eyes are now on Iran.
