Israel 'at war' with Hamas after rocket attack; Security Council to meet Sunday

Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The Israeli Defense Forces declared the country at war and launched large-scale military operations against Hamas militants Saturday after thousands of rockets struck the country.

At least 70 people were killed in the attack, emergency responders reported in an evening update. The English-language Times of Israel cited Hebrew-language reports that the death toll rose to more than 200. UPI could not verify the death toll rise.

The Israeli Ministry of Health said in a statement that 1,452 people were taken to local hospitals as of Saturday night to be treated for injuries.

Data provided by the United Nations shows that Israel forces have killed 227 Palestinians so far this year while 29 Israelis had been slain by Palestinian attackers before Saturday's Hamas offensive.

The Israeli Defense Forces issued a "state of war" alert just after midnight Saturday local time in response to a "massive" round of rocket fire into Israeli territory from Gaza.

Palestine is recognized by most nations around the world as a sovereign nation and has observer status with the U.N. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this year also reaffirmed Washington's commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict.

Still, Israel and the United States remain firm allies, and the U.N. Security Council -- of which the United States is one of five permanent members -- announced it would hold a private meeting Sunday to discuss the conflict.

A spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that "only through negotiation leading to a two-state solution can peace be achieved."

U.S. President Joe Biden said he he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and offered "all appropriate means of support to the government and people of Israel."

The United States, he said, "unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza," warning against "any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation. My administration's support for Israel's security is rock solid and unwavering."

Israeli officials said about 2,200 rockets were fired in the assault and that several "incursions" were made toward Israel in the south of the country.

People aligned with Hamas, which Israel considers to be a terrorist group, "penetrated into Israeli territory in a number of different locations," the IDF said.

Israeli officials ordered residents of the south and central areas of the country to move into protected areas.

Rockets rained down on cities across Israel, including Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, Holon, and Bat Yam. Emergency sirens were also heard in Jerusalem on several occasions during the morning attacks.

In response, the military launched "Operation Swords of Iron," which it described as a "large-scale operation to defend Israeli civilians against the combined attack launched against Israel by Hamas this morning."

However, the Red Crescent aid workers said that Israeli forces in Palestine "recently targeted three ambulances" which led to the deaths of Palestinians.

At least 92 people in the West Bank have been injured during disturbances sparked by the conflict, according to an earlier statement from the Red Crescent.

Meanwhile, 198 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have died in the Israeli counterattack with another 1,610 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported 16 people were killed in Israeli attacks on three hospitals in Gaza.

"Since this morning, the State of Israel has been at war," Netanyahu said at a Security Cabinet meeting. "Our first objective is to clear out the hostile forces that infiltrated our territory and restore the security and quiet to the communities that have been attacked."

A second objective, he added, "is to exact an immense price from the enemy, within the Gaza Strip as well. The third objective is to reinforce other fronts so that nobody should mistakenly join this war."

Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets pounded what it believed were Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, according to IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari -- who added that the country "will call up tens of thousands of reservists, as needed."

At 1:45 p.m. Saturday, the IDF reported it had already attacked 17 military compounds and four operational headquarters of the Hamas organization in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas' armed wing claimed that more than 7,000 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday, declaring it had started "Operation al-Aqsa Storm."

"We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation, their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over," Hamas officials said in a statement, calling on Palestinians everywhere "to fight and on resistance groups in Lebanon also to join the fighting against Israel."

Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh said the main reason for launching the "historic and epic" attack was the "criminal aggression" of Israelis at the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which he said had "reached its peak in recent days."

Jewish religious nationalists, including members of Israel's governing coalition, have visited the al-Aqsa site with increasing frequency in recent weeks while demanding equal prayer rights for Jews there, the Times of Israel reported.

This situation has inflamed tensions with Muslims around the world, who have condemned what they consider to be the provocative actions of Jewish militants at the third-holiest shrine in Islam.

In Iran, Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, declared his nation's support for the Palestinians' al-Aqsa Storm operation.

"We will stay with the Palestinian mujahideen until the liberation of Palestine and Al-Quds [Jerusalem]," he said in Tehran on Saturday.