Palestinians inspect the destruction around Ahmed Yassin mosque, which was leveled by Israeli airstrikes, in Gaza City early on Oct. 9, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)
BEIRUT — Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers continue their deployment on Monday in the desert regions near the Gaza Strip, attempting to regain control from Hamas fighters. This marks the third day of the deadliest clashes on Israeli soil since its establishment in 1948.
The Israeli authorities were caught off-guard by Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood early Saturday morning, when Hamas fighters fired rockets and attacked Israeli territory by land, air and sea. The operation is reminiscent of the surprise offensive in 1973 when Egyptians and Syrians declared war on Israel during Yom Kippur.
Israel relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip overnight and into October 9 as fighting with Hamas continued around the Gaza Strip, as the death toll from the war against the Palestinian militants surged above 1,100.
Rescue worker remove Palestinian casualties from under the rubble of a house destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Oct. 9, 2023.(Credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
A Palestinian reacts as he sits on the rubble of a house destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Oct. 9, 2023. (Credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
Israeli soldiers patrol on the outskirts of Sderot near the border with GAZA on Oct. 9, 2023. (Credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
A plume of smoke rises above buildings in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike, on Oct. 9, 2023.(Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)
Palestinians sit next to rubbles of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Oct. 9, 2023.(Credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
Gloves and a gun shell lie on the paved yard of a house that was held by Palestinian militants, as violence around the nearby Gaza Strip mounts following a mass-rampage by armed Palestinian infiltrators in Netivot, southern Israel, Oct. 9, 2023. (Credit: Ilan Rosenberg/Reuters)
A Palestinian sits on the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 9, 2023. (Credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/AFP)
Israeli security forces take cover during a rocket attack near the border with Gaza on Oct. 9, 2023.(Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
A rescuer reacts as he works with others to remove Palestinian casualties from under the rubble of a house destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Oct. 9, 2023. (Credit: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)