The surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, in which gunmen sneaked past security barriers and a volley of rockets fired from Gaza, occurred at dawn on Saturday during the high Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, and Reuters reports a film of the events.

• Events on the surprise war of Hamas against Israel – LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro

The attack comes 50 years and a day after Egyptian and Syrian forces launched an offensive during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in an attempt to retake territory captured by Israel during a brief conflict in 1967.

• VIDEO Shocking footage of Hamas attack in Israel: women are raped, kidnapped or killed, civilians are killed in the street, soldiers’ bodies are abused, men are beaten and taken prisoner

Here’s how it went:

Rocket firing

Around 06:30, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fired a massive volley of rockets into southern Israel, sirens heard as far away as Tel Aviv and Beersheba. Hamas said it fired 5,000 rockets in the first salvo, the Israeli military said 2,500 rockets were fired.

Smoke billowed over Israeli residential areas and people took cover behind buildings as sirens wailed overhead. At least one woman would have been killed by the rockets.

Penetration at dawn

Rocket fire provided cover for an unprecedented infiltration by militants on several fronts, and the Israeli army announced at 07:40 that Palestinian militants had crossed into Israel.

Most of the fighters came through breaches in the ground security barriers that separate Gaza from Israel. But at least one was shot during the crossing with a motorized parachute while the speedboat headed for Zikim, a coastal town and Israeli military base.

A video released by Hamas showed militants breaching a fence, with dim light and a low sun suggesting it was around the time the rocket fire took place.

The video shows at least six motorcycles with fighters driving through a hole in the metal fence.

A photo released by Hamas shows a bulldozer tearing down part of the fence.

Battles on Israeli military bases

The Israeli army announced at 10:00 a.m. that Palestinian fighters had infiltrated at least three military facilities around the border – the Erez border crossing, the Zikim base and the headquarters of the Gaza division in Reim. She said that the fighting in Erez and Zikim continues.

A Hamas video shows fighters running toward a burning building next to a tall concrete wall with a watchtower, while fighters apparently seize part of an Israeli military installation and open fire from behind the wall.

Several captured Israeli military vehicles were later photographed driving into Gaza and demonstrating there.

Raids in border towns

According to Israeli media, citing phone calls from residents, the militants raided the Israeli border town of Sderot and were reportedly in another border town of Beeri and the town of Ofakim, 30 km east of Gaza.

Video verified by Reuters shows several armed men in the back seat of a white van driving through Sderot.

Many residents of cities in southern Israel have fortified areas of their homes that function as air raid shelters and used them as panic rooms on the Sabbath.

The Israeli army ordered residents to hide inside, saying over the radio: “We will get to you.”

By mid-morning, Israeli police chief Yakov Shabtai said law enforcement agencies were engaged in firefights in 21 settlements, and at 1:30 p.m. the army said troops were still working to liberate settlements that had been taken over by the attackers.

wounded

A Reuters photographer saw bodies on the streets of Sderot. Israeli media reported at least 100 dead and 800 wounded Israelis.

Hamas videos and unverified images circulating on social media show dead civilians, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters.

Israel’s foreign ministry said Hamas attackers went from house to house killing civilians.

Taking hostages

Israeli media reported that gunmen took hostages in Ofakim. Islamic Jihad said it was holding several Israeli soldiers captive, and Hamas social media accounts posted images of prisoners being taken alive to Gaza.

The video shows three young men in vests, shorts and slippers being led through security with Hebrew writing on the wall. Other videos show captive women.

Another showed militants pulling at least two Israeli soldiers from a military vehicle.

Israeli attacks

At 09:45, explosions rang out in the center of Gaza and in Gaza City, and at 10:00 a spokesman for the Israeli army said that the air force was striking Gaza. Doctors in Gaza reported that dozens of people were killed in the attacks. (Source: News.ro)