ISLAMABAD: A new video circulating on social media shows Lebanese people distributing sweets and celebrating the recent attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas controlling the Gaza Strip, declared an end to what they referred to as the “rampaging crimes” of the Israeli occupation. They announced “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm Right” to defend their territory and claimed to have fired over 5,000 rockets in the initial 20-minute strike.
Israel’s army, on the other hand, stated that its forces engaged in ground battles with Palestinian fighters in various locations near the Gaza Strip, naming their operation “Swords of Iron.”
Army spokesperson Richard Hecht reported a combined raid by gunmen, involving paragliders, sea-based infiltration, and ground incursions.
Officials in Israel reported nearly 100 casualties. Hamas subsequently released a video showing three men captured by their fighters.
Infiltration from the impoverished Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, has been rare since Hamas assumed control in 2007, leading to Israel’s imposing blockade. A militarized border barrier separates Gaza from Israel.
The rocket barrage from Gaza, estimated at a minimum of 2,200 rockets, resulted in burning cars beneath residential buildings in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, situated about 10 kilometers (six miles) north of Gaza.
