Israel’s security cabinet is declaring a state of war following attacks by the Palestinian extremist group Hamas, authorizing “far-reaching military steps,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Sunday, DPA and Agerpres reported.

Netanyahu’s office said the war, which left hundreds dead on both sides after a wave of Hamas attacks on Saturday followed by Israeli retaliatory strikes, was “imposed on Israel through a deadly terrorist attack in Gaza.”

Hamas’s attack on Israel continued on Sunday, with the Islamist group saying it still has fighters in seven Israeli cities that it is supporting with rocket fire. Hezbollah also intervened in the conflict, attacking positions in the disputed Shebaa farms with artillery and rockets on Sunday morning, and Israeli forces responded with artillery fire and drone strikes on some of the group’s positions in Lebanon. The Israeli army also continues to strike Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip and is struggling to eliminate Islamist militants from its territory. At the moment, there are hundreds of dead and thousands of wounded in each camp, as well as many prisoners.

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