GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — At around 6 a.m. local time on Saturday, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, fired a barrage of rockets from various parts of the Gaza Strip toward Israel with a simultaneous infiltration operation on the ground, during which the Brigades crossed into southern Israel and into the settlements in the Gaza envelope.
The surprise and unprecedented attack followed a series of threats made by prominent Hamas leaders over the past months in response to the repeated violations by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
In a rare public statement, Mohammed Deif, commander of the Brigades, announced the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood with the launching of thousands of rockets toward Israel.
Deif called for expanding the attack to a regional level: “I call on our brothers in the resistance in Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Iraq and Syria to join the resistance in Palestine.”