Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday, killing at least 40 people and wounding hundreds in a surprise assault, that combined gunmen crossing into Israel with a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza, said media reports.

 

Forty people have been killed in wide-ranging incursion by the militant group Hamas into Israel, the country's national rescue service said today. 

 

Israel said the Iran-backed group had declared war as its army confirmed fighting with militants in several Israeli towns and military bases near Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.

 

"Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known," he said. "We are in a war and we will win it," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by the Reuters.

 

Mohammad Deif, a senior Hamas military commander, announced the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.

 

"This is the day of the greatest battle end the last occupation on earth," he said, adding that 5,000 rockets had been launched.

 

Israel's ambulance service said at least 40 Israelis were killed and hundreds wounded in the Hamas attack but the total appeared likely to rise. A Reuters photographer saw multiple bodies lying in streets of the southern town of Sderot.

 

The Israeli army warned of sirens across the country's south and central areas, urging the public to stay near bomb shelters.

 

The Israeli military said it had responded with air strikes into Gaza, where witnesses reported hearing heavy explosions and multiple dead and wounded being carried into hospitals.

 

Palestinian health officials said dozens of people had been killed as bombardments hit deep into Gaza City, sending clouds of black smoke spiralling into the sky.

 

Hamas said the attack was driven by what it said were Israel's escalated attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and against Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

 

It marked an unprecedented infiltration into Israel by an unknown number of Hamas gunmen crossing from the Gaza Strip, and the heaviest blow for Israel in the conflict with Palestinians since the suicide bombings of the Second Intifada some two decades ago.

 

The armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas said it was behind the fire, claiming its militants had launched more than 5,000 rockets, reported AFP. 

 

"We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation (Israel), their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over," the group said.

 

 Israel and Hamas had fought a 10-day war in 2021.

 

The militant group said it had joined the attacks and was holding several Israeli soldiers captive and Hamas social media accounts showed footage of what were said to be Israeli captives being taken alive into Gaza.

 

Hamas footage on its Telegram account showed its fighters pulling Israeli soldiers out of a tank.

 

The Israeli military has declined to comment, saying it would address the reports of Israeli captives later.

 

Israeli broadcaster Reshet 13 TV News said militants were holding Israelis hostage in the town of Ofakim, and that five Palestinian militants had been killed in Sderot and homes had been set on fire.

 

Israeli media reported gunbattles between bands of Palestinian fighters and security forces in towns in southern Israel. Israel's police chief said there were "21 active scenes" in southern Israel.

 

In Gaza, people rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of conflict ahead. Some evacuated their homes and headed for shelters.

 

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign ministry said Hamas attacks on Saturday were proof of the Palestinians' increased confidence in the face of Israel.

 

"In this operation, the element of surprise and other combined methods were used, which show the Palestinian people's confidence in the face of the occupiers," reported the semi-official ISNA news agency citing ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.