Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a "long and difficult war" has begun following Saturday's unprecedented surprise attack by Hamas militants from Gaza. In a televised address Saturday night, Netanyahu said the country would "take revenge for this black day." He emphasized, "This war will take time. It will be difficult." His Security Cabinet backed up that position on Sunday, officially declaring the country at war. "The war that was forced on the State of Israel in a murderous terrorist assault from the Gaza Strip began at 06:00 yesterday," it said in a statement, per the AP. The decision formally authorizes "the taking of significant military steps," it added.
The Guardian reports Israel's "war aims remained unclear on Sunday, including whether [Israel] would seek to remove Hamas from power in Gaza and how long any operation might last." The AP flags another "major question": whether Israel "will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties." CNN reports a statement from Netanyahu's office sheds some light, saying the country's political-security cabinet met late Saturday and made a "series of operational decisions aimed at bringing about the destruction of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, in a way that would negate their ability and desire to threaten and harm the citizens of Israel for many years to come."
The Israeli counterattack has included air strikes, with the Israel Defense Forces saying 426 targets in Gaza have been hit, among them 10 towers used by Hamas. On the ground, the AP reports Israeli soldiers were battling Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel on Sunday. Israeli media puts the known death toll at 600, while the Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 313 people have died in Gaza. NBC News reports that Hamas says it has taken "dozens" of Israeli soldiers hostage and is holding them in "safe places and resistance tunnels" in Gaza. Women, children, and the elderly are also said to have been taken hostage, with the media reporting it's believed Hamas may try to trade them for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
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