Israel’s government has formally declared war on Hamas following the massive terror attack by Hamas terrorists on 7 October. The security cabinet of Israel has voted to put the country officially at war, authorising the government to carry out “significant military activities,” the Prime Minister’s Office announced.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already said yesterday that the country was at war after Hamas terrorists infiltrated southern Israel through land, water and air along with massive rocket attacks. The high-level security cabinet invoked Clause 40 of Basic Law: The Government, to authorise the govt to declare war. The clause 40 says that the country cannot go to war without a government decision.
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) would now be able to act independently and at its own discretion and report to the relevant national authorities. The 1973 Yom Kippur War marked the last time this Clause 40 was invoked to declare war.
It is notable that while saying that the country was at war, PM Benjamin Netanyahu also asked Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip ‘now’, indicating that the IDF will launch a full-scale attack on the 41 km long, 6-12 km wide strip boarding Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
Notably, the death toll from the massive assault launched by Hamas on Israeli settlements near Gaza and thousands of rockets fired into Israel is over 600 including dozens of soldiers and police personnel. The Israeli Health Ministry informed that there are now 2,048 wounded people in hospitals among 20 who are in critical condition and 330 who are seriously wounded.
On the other hand, Israeli officials have claimed that hundreds of Hamas terrorists have been killed and many others captured during Operation Iron Sword. The Palestine authorities have confirmed that at least 370 people have been killed and nearly 2,200 injured in Israeli operations, including air raids on Gaza.
Colonel Roi Levy, commander of the special IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Multidimensional unit ‘Refaim’ (Ghost) was murdered on the fateful day of the assault while leading his troops in combat with Hamas terrorists in the southern settlement of Re’im close to Gaza. Colonel Yonatan Steinberg of the Nahal Infantry Brigade, another senior IDF commander was killed on the same day during confrontations with Hamas in the Kerem Shalom region close to the Gaza Strip border.
Levy and Steinberg are among the most senior officers to have been killed in combat in recent memory.” Israel’s Police have recorded 30 policemen dead since the onslaught commenced, and the IDF has officially acknowledged the fatalities of 44 soldiers. Israeli military officials proclaimed that unconfirmed estimates place the number of missing soldiers and citizens at over 750.
Meanwhile, two Israeli tourists were murdered on 8 October when a policeman opened fire on their group in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria. Their Egyptian tour guide was also killed and a third Israeli was moderately injured in the horrifying assault. Israel is sending a military plane to bring back the bodies from Egypt, along with other Israeli survivors of the attack.
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War known by multiple names such as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. The war began when the Arab coalition jointly launched a surprise attack against Israel on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur which had occurred during the 10th of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in that year.
Following the outbreak of hostilities, both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated massive resupply efforts to their respective allies during the war which led to a confrontation between the two nuclear-armed superpowers. The Arab forces were hoping to regain territory lost during the third Arab-Israeli War in 1967. However, Israel emerged victorious and the Arab countries faced humiliating defeat as a consequence of the altercation.