Hamas took babies hostage in surprise terror attack that left more than 300 dead and 1,500 injured, says Israel’s ex-prime minister
The Hamas gunmen who launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel have taken babies and elderly women hostage, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
Bennett revealed the sickening details of the ongoing attack in an interview with CNN on Saturday evening, as gun battles continued on the streets of Israel more than 24 hours after the attack began.
“It has been a very difficult day for the State of Israel, for the citizens of Israel. The number of Israelis murdered is staggering,” Bennet said.
“We have babies kidnapped to Gaza. An 80-year-old woman with what appears to be dementia has been abducted to Gaza. So it has been one of the most difficult days in the history of Israel,” he continued.
Published reports from Israel show that more than 300 Israelis have been killed and 1,590 injured since Hamas launched its blitz with rockets and bands of roving gunmen, attacking both civilians and soldiers in dozens of locations.
Fire and smoke rise over buildings early Sunday during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. At least 300 Israelis were killed in a surprise large-scale attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas
The Hamas gunmen who launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel have taken babies hostage, according to former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (right)
Israeli Defense Force (IDF) spokesman Jonathan Conricus told CNN that up to 1,000 armed Hamas fighters reportedly infiltrated the border early on Saturday, coupled with rocket attacks throughout the day.
Hamas claims that dozens of Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza, which the militants likely hope to use as bait to lure Israeli army soldiers into a death trap.
“Hamas, in their horrific brutality, kidnapped women, children, the elderly and even the disabled, dragged them – some alive, some dead – into Gaza and paraded them through the streets,” Conricus.
Conricus said the number of hostages was “significant” but declined to give a specific number, calling the situation “extremely delicate.”
It is by far the deadliest day of violence in Israel since the Yom Kippur War fifty years ago. The fighting continued into the early morning hours.
More than 230 Gaza residents were also killed as Israel responded with one of its most devastating days of reprisal attacks. The fighting continued into the night.
A captured woman sat in the front seat of a golf cart accompanied by three male Hamas members as they entered the Gaza Strip
“We will take strong revenge on this bad day,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
‘Hamas launched a cruel and wicked war. We will win this war, but the price is too heavy to bear,” he said.
‘Hamas wants to kill us all. This is an enemy that kills mothers and children at home and in their beds. An enemy who kidnaps the elderly, children, teenage girls.’
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the attack that started in Gaza would spread to the West Bank and Jerusalem.
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